Eternal Recurrence
by Akuma Killer
Summary: As always, Shirou found himself on the pointed end of a spear. This time though, it seems that fate has decreed to give him the very weapon that threatened to end his life. With her eternal spear, he walks into a fight of Hell itself.
1. Chapter 1

"Are you my Master?"

Those are the words spoken by the person now summoned in the room. I look at her. Those spears she carries. There's something about them which catches my eye. The crimson color of both spears which contrasts with the whole room. While it's starting to get pitch black, the moonlight's reflection gives the shed a color of blue. They're both pretty big… and there's something about them that sends a shiver down my spine. That pair of spears are demonic, their appearance further reinforcing this fact. Red thorns run through the middle of the spears themselves, as if already coated with the blood of fallen enemies.

"I'll ask again: Are you my Master?"

"Huh?"

I don't know what to say. Am I really her Master?

"I have come forth due to a call of summoning. I presume you were the one that summoned me? Our contract is now complete. I am Servant Lancer."

I feel a burning sensation on my left hand. Three red seals have appeared. Those seals have the appearance of a sword. While it's not an appearance of an actual sword, these seals resembles one. Questions suddenly pop into my mind...

"Master, huh... I never thought I'd be in this situation."

She turns around before facing the enemy. I'm sure whoever tried to kill me would be slain by her, but I can't let her do this by herself, I'll help her out. I'll never forget this scene even if I were to die right now.

* * *

 **Eternal Recurrence**

* * *

 ** _A few hours earlier..._**

I stop by the rooftop after school. The sun had set, so all there is is darkness.

"Archer, do you sense anyone around us?"

"..."

I was getting irritated. My servant hasn't spoken to me since this morning. Looks like there's a bounded field placed here. This field is too strong for me to remove. Doesn't hurt to try though. This must be from a Servant. Whoever decided to place it here must be targeting everyone at the school. I can't believe it.

"Hey Archer, let me know if you see someone around us. I'll try to destroy the bounded field."

I touch the ground. But before I'm even able to speak-

"Hey. Destroying the bounded field is a waste."

I freeze.

This person that has arrived, I get the same feeling when I'm near Archer. Is this a Servant too? I have a feeling I shouldn't even be in his range right now!

"Looks like you at least know the basics of magecraft. Maybe I shouldn't have interrupted you. Since you're a bystander..."

A staff appears in his hand. Slowly inching towards the edge of the roof, I leap off. Something flies past me, a fireball. I can feel the heat that it radiates. If I was a second late, I would've been burnt.

"Es ist gros, es ist klein!"

A spell to lighten my body. With a fall like this, a normal person would've died.

"Vox, gott es Atlas! Archer!"

I let Archer take care of the impact. I cover 100 meters in under 7 seconds due to reinforcing my body. This should allow me to escape. My footsteps make contact with the ground, so all that I can hear are my foot going against the ground.

"Those are some nice legs you have there."

...Oh right. Against a Servant this wouldn't work well. Due to Servants being much more powerful than a magus like me, something like covering 100 meters in under 7 seconds is easy to them. I can't outrun them.

"Archer."

I step back. Archer appears right in front of me. Turning his back, he faces the blue Servant. The same staff from before appears in his hands. This man was wearing his hood before, but now he takes off his hood. I take note of his appearance. Blue hair with a ponytail on the back of his head. Long silver earrings which are runestones on both end of his ears. His outfit is a hood with fur around the hooded area. I'm not sure what is he wearing at all, but it seems that his outfit is from an older time, one where there were interactions with the gods...

"Servant Caster?"

"Archer I suppose?"

In an instant, a white shortsword materializes in Archer's right hand.

"Or maybe a Saber? Just who are you?"

"..."

"No, You're Archer. I suppose you don't have a bow."

Archer chose not to answer.

"Archers usually don't go for one on one combat. I'll wait for your bow."

I see. Archer is waiting for me to respond.

"Archer. Show your strength!"

"...Hmph."

Throwing his sword, it easily slices through the air. Aimed for the neck, hoping to incapacitate the enemy. No normal person could dodge such a thing. Caster simply smacks the sword away with his staff. Archer dashes forwards. Defenseless, but not for long. A black shortsword emerges from his left hand as the previously thrown white sword comes back, Archer catching it in his free right hand, closing the distance. Archer takes a swing at Caster. Casters aren't usually known for their physical strength, so this should be a fatal blow!

But Caster just blocks the blow without any issues. I underestimated him, this Caster is no regular Caster!

"Hah, your tricks are interesting, Archer. But just because I'm a Caster, doesn't mean I'm bad at close combat!"

Setting the edge of his staff on fire, he swings at Archer. Archer leaps back, avoiding the swing.

"You... This is more troublesome than I thought."

In a second, both come into range again.

* * *

 **Eternal Recurrence**

* * *

After I decided to stay after school to clean up the Archery club, I heard noises. So I decided to check it out. My decision to visit the school grounds immediately fills me with regret. What I see is a battle of two unknown figures, one of them dressed in blue clothing, the other in red. With a quick glance, I can tell they're both not normal human beings.

My body is telling me to run. I shouldn't be looking at this. But I can't look away. They both seem to be pretty evenly matched. The one in red who is armed with two shortswords, his weapons breaks many times throughout the clash. He just creates them anew in an instant. Meanwhile, the one in blue seems to excel at both close and far range combat. At close range he can beat his enemy away with his staff, while at a distance he casts spells by tracing the air with his staff at inhuman speeds. These aren't humans nor magus. If I stay any longer, I'm going to die. I'm going to die. I don't want to die!

"Huh? Who's there?"

The one in blue stops and looks in my direction. Did his eye catch mine? No time for questions now. My body automatically jerks back, and I start to run towards the opposite direction. I can only hear my footsteps as I run towards the school. I hastily open the door and run pass all the closed rooms. Is there an exit somewhere here?

I don't know how fast I ran, but I ended up in the hallways of my school on one of the upper floors. I stop to catch my breath.

"Ha...ah...ah..."

Am I safe? I look up in front of me-

"Hey."

-The man from before is right in front of me. My whole body goes numb except for my heart.

"You ran pretty far. But you can't escape from a Servant that easily."

I don't see his staff with him, but a branch is in his right hand. Instantly, the branch turns into a wooden spear.

"Well, you saw us. So die."

Before my mind can process the situation, I'm pierced through the heart with the wooden spear. Collapsing backwards, my body falls towards the wall. He pulls out the spear from my heart. He says some things which I can't seem to hear… Am I going to die like this? All my training all led up to this moment, where I just die?

"You were just unlucky kid."

With what little consciousness I'm trying to maintain, I hear footsteps. I can't seem to hear what they're saying, but it seems like it's two people nearby...

"We should just let the boy die."

"No. We can still save him."

I don't know what else they said, but the next minute, my heart has seemed to return to normal. I think I'll just take a nap...

* * *

 **Eternal Recurrence**

* * *

What was I thinking? Saving someone who's not a magus? That jewel I used had all my saved mana from the past 10 years. And most of it is now gone. My father's probably turning in his grave right now.

"Rin, we should've let that boy die."

"Shut up Archer!"

I arrive at the front door of my house. I saved my classmate's life. I unlock my door to my home, placing my used pendant on a desk.

I take a deep breath before exhaling. Something does seem off though...Wait.

Caster killed a witness and chose that over finishing the battle. What would he do if he finds out his witness is still alive?

It's been a few hours, but I can still make it in time!

* * *

 **Eternal Recurrence**

* * *

I wake up. I feel sick. My body hurts, especially my chest. Did I get-

"Stabbed through the heart?"

This looks like a murder scene. This place is covered in my blood. The smell is foul. This is where I died.

I better clean it up. Getting a mop and bucket, I clean up the mess, then pick up and throw away any trash lying around. I feel like a criminal destroying evidence. I can hardly think straight right now...

When I got home, I turned on the lights. I try to take a deep breath, but all I feel is pain. I was killed today, but didn't stay dead. Even though I'm still alive, my heart is still trying to recover. I turn off the lights. I should lie down...

I hear the doorbell ring its usual tone. Who would be at the door at the time like this? Taiga isn't staying here today and Sakura is at home. The bounded field went off. Is it a thief?

I better get ready if it is one. The only thing lying around here is a poster Taiga gave me to me. This will have to do.

"Trace, on. Basic quality, analyzed."

I start analyzing the structure of the poster. What the poster is made up of, and the materials are in my head. As I roll the poster up after analyzing it, I pour my magical energy into it. This poster is now as hard as metal, but still light. This would do. If I just stay here, nothing would change. I will die once again. If I can go to the shed, there are plenty of things I can use as a weapon there. Now then, when will he arri-

"-!"

He swung from the side! I block the attack from the side. I could feel the impact of the attack going through my whole body. The poster still holds up. Two swings from both sides. I twist my body backwards and repel the two attacks. With each clash, the sound of wood clashing into metal is heard. My body shouldn't be able to keep up with any of his attacks, but I'm barely holding my own right now. I'm a few meters away from the window.

"I never thought I'd kill the same person in a day."

Touching one of the tables in the room, he inscribes words that I don't know of on it, and a second later, it turns into a spear. What the hell?!

"A spear. If only I was summoned into the Lancer class. But this will have to do for now. Now die."

Using the spear, he swings at me. I manage to block it. Before he is able to take another swing, I jump through the window and roll a few meters. The window breaks and I'd need to clean it up. But that's the least of my concerns right now. I don't see him. Maybe if I can run to the shed-

A thrown projectile. The spear from before. He throws it at me and I move to deflect it. I end up in the air. Because he kicked me. My back hits the wall of the shed.

"Guh-"

My body hurts. I can barely breathe. But I crawl quickly to enter the shed. He picks up the spear he made, and enters the shed too. A thrust. I can barely survive his swings, but a thrust would kill me. Opening up the poster as a shield, it protects me from his fatal blow. But the poster is of no use, transforms back to its base form of paper. I'm flung backwards by the impact and hit another wall. As I recover, I scan the area for a weapon. But it's too late. His weapon is already pointed at my heart.

"You're quick at thinking. You seem to be a novice at magecraft though. I guess you aren't old enough."

A quick thrust would kill me. This is stupid. Bullshit. I don't want to die here. It pisses me off that I'm going to die again here. I don't want to die. I… I won't be killed. Not by you!

"Huh?"

"What?"

It all happened like magic. A magic circle underneath Caster glows white. What's this magic circle and how long has it been there?

Someone appeared near me. All that I know is that whatever stood next to me looked feminine. Deflecting the thrust and standing up to the enemy, my enemy makes a face full of regret and shock.

"You?! Out of every Lancer that could have been summoned, this boy had to summon _you_?! Just my luck...!"

Caster takes a swing at her. But she deflects his attack with not one, but two red spears. Sparks seem to fly all over the place when they cross lances.

"Agh!"

He leaps out of the shed. She turns around to face me.

"Are you my Master?" she asks me.

Master? This turn of events is making my head spin. Not only was I about to die again, I was saved by this women just before that was about to happen. She stares at me, waiting for an answer.

"Huh?"

Master...what is she talking about? Master?

"I'll ask again: Are you my Master?"

"Ma...master?"

I only repeat that word. Master. She's just like that being who tried to kill me.

"I have come forth due to a call of summoning. I presume you were the one that summoned me? Our contract is now complete. I am Servant Lancer."

"Contract? What's that...?!"

My left hand hurts. I grab it with my other hand. She only nods and turns the other way to face the enemy. Her dark red hair is different than what is around us right now. Since it's dark outside, I'd say that her hair stands out the most in the dark moonlight, along with her eyes too which are crimson. Her outfit isn't what one would call...normal. Infact her outfit is a black tightsuit that emphasizes her breasts and aside from her chest and the area between her legs, her outfit is see through. It's snug in all the right places alright. She's wearing what seems to be a mouth cover, akin to a surgical mask that's the same color as her attire. She also has two shoulder plates which are copper colored. Seams are all over the ends of her arms, her legs, and chest. She wears steel boots. Her outfit reminds me of the blue figure that tried to kill me. Are they related in any way?

That spear, no wait, those spears she's holding. They're red too and give out a murderous vibe. And the aura I feel around her is like that of a warrior.

"Master, huh... I never thought I'd be in this situation."

She looks at the door and sighs. I can't let her do this by herself. Even though I could still barely stand up, I managed to do so anyways. I know that she could take him on but I'd like to give her as much support as I can. The enemy is outside.

As I manage to stand up, she quickly leaps out of the shed. I run outside and get a better view of the situation.

Lancer is only using one spear now. But even with only one spear, in a fight of close ranged combat she overwhelms Caster. The noise of each clash is loud that it's as if there's a sonic boom. With how loud it is, I'm surprised no neighbors are waking up. Caster face is filled with regret, lots of it. With how the fight has turned around and how it's now him that's having trouble keeping up, is he going to run away?

"You're lucky I wasn't summoned as a Lancer!" Caster yells out to us.

Caster takes a quick stance and starts thrusting his spear at Lancer at many angles. My eyes can barely keep up with how agile his attacks are. If I was in Lancer's position, this attack would've been impossible for me to dodge. But Lancer is different. Instead of being ripped into shreds, she does the same move as Caster but with much more ferocity, parrying each and every single one of his blows. If Caster is a wild dog, then Lancer is a charging bull.

With each clash, Caster is slowly backing away. Against Lancer, Caster was outclassed. I haven't seen him cast any spells yet since he's a Caster, well except for that one spell which turned a branch and a table into a spear. Seriously how does that work?

"I would love for us to continue our fight Lancer. But my master is telling me to go."

Quickly inscribing something on the ground, a pillar of earth rises underneath Caster and with it, he leaps away and disappears.

Lancer stops. After the short battle she had, I run up to her. No injuries at all. Without Caster nearby, I am able to take a look at Lancer without any chance of harm. Everything about her appearance is to say, alien to me. That armor, if you can even call it that, fits her figure well. Her skin which the moonlight reflects on looks soft. Her hair, which reaches past her waist is beautiful. Maybe I could ask her if I can run my fingers through her hair? What am I thinking? I push aside all my thoughts and ask her a question.

"Who are you?"

"You summoned me, no? I'm Servant Lancer." she replies to me.

"Lancer…"

"Yes. Call me Lancer."

Her tone is affirmative. She wants me to call her Lancer. I'm feeling weird right now, why are my cheeks turning red from Lancer saying that? I'm getting flustered just talking to her right now. I asked for her name, the most I can do is the same.

"Uh. I'm Emiya Shirou. I guess you could say that I live here-no I mean, I do live here!"

Am I stupid? I do live here. If I could just lie down and process everything that has happened to me today…

No response. She just stares at me, with her face looking confused? I'm really not sure. She finally speaks up.

"I can tell you didn't mean to summon me. But you're still my Master because of our contract. Or would you like me to call you Emiya instead?"

Emiya. I like that instead of being called Master.

"Yeah. Call me Emiya."

I grip my left hand. Pain. The sensation of burning. There's a tattoo?

"That is a Command spell. Three to be exact. With each use, the Servants would obey each order. Careful when you use it. Only use it for emergencies."

"Hu-"

Before I could ask another question, the atmosphere changes.

"Emiya. Stay here. I sense two enemies nearby."

"Enemies…?"

Just like Caster, Lancer leaps out of my backyard. Two enemies nearby? I can't let her fight! I move my body, and dash towards the gate. My hands trembles when unlocking the gate. My whole body is shaking uncontrollably not only due to the cold, but because of my nervousness. I finally unlock it, and jump outside.

* * *

 **Eternal Recurrence**

* * *

"Ha...ah…"

I stop to catch my breath. In under the span of a few minutes, I had seen a white flash near the Emiya residence and Caster who had left the area.

"Archer, do you think that that all seven Servants are summoned now?"

"I'd say so. Whoever summoned the last one, that means all Masters are here now."

I didn't expect what would happen next. Multiple red spears are flying towards me in the air. Even if I move my body, I would still get hit by one. I'm going to die.

"Archer-"

Archer pushes me aside. He manage to projects his twin swords used against Caster in time to redirect a few of the spears, but there was too many. The other spears impales him. Instead of a fatal blow, it turned into a crippling blow. The Servant who was able to match Caster is down in the span of a few seconds. He can still make if I can put him back in spirit form.

"Archer, disappear!"

This time, I make it. Before the enemy was able to thrust her lance at me, Archer dematerializes. Looks like I used up one of my Command Spells, that command must've been excessive. There's only one command spell left that I can use. The enemy dressed in black swings her spear at me. Because Archer was able to hold off those incoming spears for me, I dodge her swing in time. Taking out a gem, I throw it at her and it breaks. The sound of the gem cracking fills the ears of both of us. A wind spell which can blow a house away. It does nothing however. The instant it touches the enemy, it simply dissipates. Such strong magical resistance, this did nothing to her at all!

"That was a nice spell, magus."

I look up. She points her lance straight at my heart. I could only dodge a single attack from her. Archer's wounded, my spells won't work on her, and I'm about to die.

"Your death approaches, Master of Archer."

Nothing I can do could fix this situation right now. The lance will pierce my heart and I will die. But will I have any regrets? I don't think so. I accept my death. I, Rin Tohsaka, will die on the third day of the Holy Grail War. While I wanted Saber, I got Archer. But this Servant, Lancer. I feel like this servant is even stronger, stronger than any Saber that could be summoned. This figure who I was only able to glance at for a few moments, I can tell that she will make it all the way to the end of this war.

* * *

 **A/N:** Credit for Caster's ability to turn things into a spear is from Mook91's "Nasuverse Rune Magic Brainstorming Thread/Rune Magic in general." thread from Spacebattles. If anyone knows how to send PMs on there, tell me. For some reason I can't send PMs on there even though I made an account.

So this is my first story, hopefully you guys will enjoy it.

Master: Emiya Shirou  
True Name: ?  
Class: Lancer  
Gender: Female  
Alignment: Neutral Good

Strength: B  
Endurance: A  
Agility: A  
Mana: C  
Luck: -  
Noble Phantasm: A+

Class Skills:

 _Magical Resistance_ : A

Personal Skills:

 _Primordial Rune_ : -  
 _Wisdom of the Abyss_ : A+  
 _God Slayer_ : B

Noble Phantasms:

?


	2. Chapter 2

The sound of projectiles flying through the air is what I hear when I go in front of my home. I look at the direction I heard them. I see that the man from before, who was fighting Caster, was stabbed by multiple spears.

"Archer, disappear!" The girl shouts.

That voice sounds familiar. Is it who I think it is? The man in red disappears, and what happens next was a blur. The person who was attacked by Lancer is Rin Tohsaka, head of the Tohsaka family. I don't know much about her, but I do know that she's an idol at our school. Known for top marks and beauty, she's been asked out by many males at our school and each time, she rejects them. Even I have some feelings towards Tohsaka, but I'm busy fixing our school's appliances to get a girlfriend. Who else is going to fix our A/Cs besides I, the fake janitor?

I also notice that Lancer has her spear pointed at her. She's going to die. I can't let her do that.

"LANCER, NO!"

My lungs which was filled with air is now empty. Lancer halts her attack.

"Emiya..."

She turns her head to face me. Her lance is still pointed at Rin.

"If we don't kill her now, then her Servant will recover and she'll attack us!"

Lancer has a point. Rin could attack us if I spare her. But I know Rin. She won't attack us.

"Look, I don't exactly know what's going on, but I do know you can't hurt anyone that I know."

I say to Lancer. But she doesn't buy it. She is still intending on killing her.

"No. She's an enemy, Emiya. She needs to die."

"Shirou…" Rin speak in almost a pleading whisper.

Yeah, I can't let her die like this. If she dies, then…

"Wait, Lancer."

She is still holding onto her spear. I'm surprised she still hasn't stabbed Rin.

"Don't kill her, she was the one that revived me. She saved my life and because of her, I was able to summon you. So until I pay her back, don't kill her."

Lancer's body loosens up. Her spear disappears. Her intent to kill is gone, or at least mostly away.

"Fine, Emiya. I'll spare her life for now. But if she tries anything to harm you, I'll kill her on the spot."

Rin stands up. She coughs for a bit. She's still in shock after almost being killed. I wouldn't blame her. I almost died twice today, so she's not the only one who had a crazy day.

"Ahem. Anyways. Let's go inside, Shirou. I'd like to discuss to you some things. That's okay with you, Lancer?"

Lancer nods.

"It's okay. As long as you don't do anything weird to Emiya, I'll hold off from attacking you."

"W-W-weird?! What do you mean weird?!"

Rin's face turns red. Why would her face turn red all of a sudden?

* * *

We enter my home. I turn on the lights. Everything is a mess here after Caster attacked me. The plates are all scattered around, the floor is messed up and worse of all, my table is missing. That last part seems to elicit some questions to both Rin and Lancer.

"So… where is your table Shirou?"

"Emiya, did the man from before do something to your table?"

Geez. I forgot about the table. How am I supposed to explain this to Sakura and Taiga? That a crazy man with a staff came over here and turned my table into a spear? Rin walks over to the broken window. She closely examines it, before placing her hands on it. In just under a few seconds, the window is fixed.

"Whoa, Tohsaka, how did you do that?"

"What? This is basic magecraft, Shirou. Don't you know how to do such a simple spell like this?"

"No. My father never taught me how to fix windows with magic."

Rin's mood had changed. She looks pissed at me. Did I say something stupid?

"Okay. Do you at least know any of the five main elements?"

I shake my head. I don't know any of the five elements at all. Infact, the only magic my dad ever taught me were Reinforcement and Projection. She looks scary right now. This is different than the Rin I know from school.

"What do you know?"

"Well. I can do strengthening magic."

"That's an uncommon magic. You can't do anything besides that?"

"As far as I know, no. But I could also do Projection magic."

Rin stays silent. She shakes her head and looks at me.

"Geez. You really are hopeless. How did Lancer get summoned by you?"

She's making me mad.

"Forget about that for a moment. I have to pay back my debt now. I'll begin right now."

She lifts up one of her hands and points her finger upwards. She's going to lecture me about something. Maybe I'll get some answers from her.

* * *

Rin tells me info about the Holy Grail War, the war that I was forcefully dragged into. Basically, a fight between seven Masters. The tattoos on my left hand are Command Spells, which allows Masters to give an order that the Servant can't object to. There's only three that each Master gets, so I'd need to be careful in using them. Each Master summons a Servant, who are familiars that fight for you. Either killing the Master or defeating the Servant would mean that the person is out of the war. Each Master needs to kill the other six Masters, then they're granted the the Holy Grail.

There's still more things I want to ask though. Before I'm able to-

"Hold up," she interrupts me.

"Before you ask that, we should get Lancer over here."

With her name being called out, Lancer walks over to us. For the most part, she's been quiet.

"Shirou told me you aren't in full form. You were summoned by a novice magus who doesn't know how to be a Master."

"Yes… I'm not in full form. It's difficult for me to turn into a spirit or to give me magical energy."

"Wow, I didn't expect to hear all that from you. Archer's okay, but I wouldn't mind having you as a Heroic spirit if I hadn't summoned him."

"Are you saying I'm not fit to be her Master?" I blurt out to her.

"Of course not, idiot."

That's all she says to me.

"Well, Have any more questions? No? Good. Then let's go. We're going to meet the overseer of the war."

"Where's that? That's close-by right?" I ask her.

"Yeah. He's in the church in this neighbor. His name is Kotomine Kirei, the fake priest."

* * *

We head towards the church. The long walk was shortened by half when I decided to take the shortcut through the bridge. The church lies on top of a hill. That's not the only thing there, as a cemetery is also nearby. The church is wonderful. It gives an ominous feeling for some people, but personally, I don't feel that way.

"We better go inside, Shirou." Rin says to me. Lancer takes a look at the church. We're all in front of the church, the door still unopened.

"Emiya. Let me go with you inside of the church. I have a bad feeling about this area…"

Lancer tells me. A bad feeling? What could go wrong in such a holy place? Rin shuts down that idea though.

"Lancer, we can't let you go inside. That priest won't allow it."

Lancer sighs. Without any complaints, she instead just stands outside of the church, with her spear materialized. Rin and I both step inside.

I'm blinded by the bright lights. So this is the church. From the inside, it looks like that a lot of people visit the church. So there's a lot of seats to accommodate. I see a tall man walking towards us.

He's wearing what a priest would wear. A long coat. Black clothing. A necklace-shaped cross which hung around his neck. I've never been to this church at all, and my dad hasn't either. I understand why Rin doesn't like this guy though. There's just something about him that I can't seem to put my finger on...

"Rin, who is this guy?" I ask her.

"He's Kotomine Kirei. He's my father's student, has been my caretaker for ten years, and I wish I never met him."

"I feel the same. I didn't want some apprentice who doesn't respect her teacher."

His voice sends a shiver down my spine. Yeah, this priest seems to be up to no good. In fact, what kind of priest would be an overseer of a war such as this one?

"He's the seventh one, Rin?"

"Yep. He's a magus, but a novice one. I believe it's the rules that when one becomes a Master, you report to the overseer?"

"Yes. I'll do that right now."

He steps forward towards me. I take a step back. The atmosphere around me feels...different with him around.

"What's your name?"

"Emiya Shirou. I still haven't agreed to being a 'Master' thing yet."

"Emiya Shirou."

Just by him saying my name, I feel uneasy. I want to get out. However, I keep my cool and focus on what he'll say to me.

"Thank for you coming here. Without you, Rin wouldn't have come. Master of Lancer, correct?"

Rin's anger flares up after that sentence. That's not important right now though.

"Yeah. I made a contract, but if there's anyone else who's better, than I can let them have my spot."

"...I see. This person really knows nothing, Rin."

Okay, that pissed me off. I do know magic. How can I not know anything when I know at least the basics?

"To clear up some misunderstands. Even if you like it or not, those Command Spells on your hand shows that you're a Master. You can't resign from being a Master. So the only way to do so is to get the Holy Grail."

"What?"

This isn't making sense…

"Anyways. You're aware of what the Holy Grail War is, right?"

"Yes. Rin told me all about it. So I have one question, is this really the real Grail? The one that can grant wishes?"

"Of course the Holy Grail is real in this town. Look at the Servants that are summoned. That's a miracle that shouldn't happen, but it did so."

That's true if what Rin told me earlier is correct. The grail grants the Servants a body and a soul so these beings could be summoned.

"Anyways, since Rin told you most of what you'd need to know about the Holy Grail War, I'll ignore the explanations. Do you still want to be a Master? As a rule, I could take your command spells if you withdraw and you'd have protection if you stay at the church."

Withdraw my rights as Master? I think that's a good idea. Yet, even though I'm not a magus who's as great as Rin, if I give up my command spells, then I still might be killed by that guy who attacked me earlier.

"Sorry, but I've decided. I'll participate in this war."

"Hmm. Very well then. Emiya Shirou, seventh Master of the War. Master of Lancer. You're now a participant in this Holy Grail War."

Rin was quiet for most of the time… I wonder why. I nod at the priest.

"I understand what I'm getting into. If there's someone who's going to use the grail for evil, then I'll stop them."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. I'll become a Hero of Justice and I'll definitely stop them. "

"Then rejoice, boy. Your wish will finally come true. After all, a villain can't be defeated unless there's a hero."

I flinch at his statement. I start to walk the opposite direction towards the exit.

"Don't worry about it. Worries are normal for a human being. Farewell, Emiya Shirou. This is my last warning, but be careful on your way home. Your whole life will change from now on. You're now a Master, who must kill or be killed."

* * *

"Is your business done, Emiya?" Lancer asks me.

"Yes. I've decided to participate in this war."

Lancer nods her head. "Should we head home then?"

"No. I think we should wait for Tohsaka."

As if on cue, Rin leaves the church.

"That priest… Why does he have to be my guardian?"

After that, we all start to head home. For now, Rin decides to follow me with Archer still in spirit form.

"Rin, something about that priest doesn't sit right with me."

I blurt out to her. His voice and actions are just..different from what I expect from a normal priest.

"Yeah… I don't like him either."

Archer appears.

"So, is this where I kill him?"

"Archer! Even though we're supposed to be enemies, I'm not killing him. I still need to pay him back."

"Very well then. You sure there's not another reason why you don't want to kill him?"

Archer says to Rin. Her whole face turns red.

"No! I'm just repaying him. I can't fight him until after I paid my debts."

"I shall disappear then. Call me again after you repay him."

Archer disappears. While he was still in physical form, I see that he had a lot of gaping holes throughout his body. Is my Servant really that strong to inflict such wounds on him? With those injuries, he'll be out of the war for at least a few days. We all walk down the hill together. The walk had been filled with silence so far.

"Hey, Shirou? I have to go."

"Are you going to look for Masters?" I ask her.

"Pretty much. Masters don't go attacking people in the morning after all. So the only time I could really look for Servants is at night. Even though Archer's wounded, he could still fight in case anyone tries to attack me. I think I did enough to repay my part of the debt. Next time we meet, we're enemies."

So that's how she is. She's different from the Rin I know at school. My image of her is forever changed. I can't look at her the same way I did with her at school.

"Wow, thanks Rin. You're a good person."

"Wha-?! Anyways, if you ever lose Lancer, just run to the church."

"As much as I hate that advice, I will. Not gonna happen though, I'll probably die before Lancer does."

"Alright. Even though Lancer is a powerful Servant, it won't matter if her Master get killed."

Before Rin is able walk away, an unknown voice speaks.

"Hey. Are you guys done yet?"

* * *

 **A/N:** This chapter was pretty boring when I typed it up. Just wanted to move the plot along and so I left it at this point. Next chapter is going to be pretty big though.


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey. Are you guys done yet?"

We all are silent. Another person is here. A youthful one, judging by the voice alone. We all turn our heads towards her. She's right behind me, at least fifty meters away. Lancer looks over to her and so does Rin.

A young girl with white hair. She's at least half my height, maybe a little more. She has dark red eyes and pale skin, just like an albino. She wears a white scarf around her neck, a purple hat and a purple coat. Her outfit is elegant. Is she royalty?

As I move my eyes around her, I sense something that shouldn't be here. A large muscular being. That's not a human. It's a giant. It must be a servant just like Lancer. The eyes are different colors, its right eye being red, and the left eye being yellow. It wears some bracelet on both sides of its hands. I can see the veins of the being bulging out. The skin is dark, the color like lead. The only notable armor he's wearing is a armoured skirt. The weapon in his hand is simply some unknown axe-sword with no history, unlike Lancer's and Archer's weapons. To say this thing's a monster is an understatement.

"Berserker…"

Rin Tohsaka mumbles. Berserker? The servants I encountered were Archer, Lancer, and Caster so far. There are seven masters in this war. So this must mean that little girl is the Master of Berserker.

"Evening, Onii-chan. Remember our earlier meeting? This is the second time we've met."

She smiles at me. With that Servant of hers, they really are the opposite of each other, both of them looks out of place. The mere presence of Berserker is giving me chills.

"This Servant is stronger than Lancer in raw power. Archer, you can't take this Servant head on, especially in your condition. Use your bow."

Archer appears. A sleek black bow appears in his right hand instantly. So that's his bow.

"How will you defend against him? We can't do anything against his charge."

"We can do it. We'll try to hold our ground. Besides, we've got Shirou's Servant with us."

Lancer focuses on Berserker. Her spear was already out.

"Rin. Have Archer support me at range. I'll take on Berserker up close." Lancer speaks out.

"Way ahead of you."

Archer replies back as he leaps away with his bow out.

"Can I start now?"

She laughs. She takes a bow while lifting the sides of her skirt.

"Hello, Rin. I'm Ilya von Einzbern."

"...Einzbern."

Tohsaka's body stiffens. She recognizes that name. The young girl smiles. She must've liked how Rin reacted. Then…

"Get them, Berserker."

On command, Berserker leaps up in the air and flies towards us like a meteor. Lancer jumps to meet him and their weapons cross. A loud crashing sound echos throughout the air. Both of them land on the ground, facing each other. They both speed towards each other.

I notice Archer's arrows flying towards Berserker. With each shot, I take into account on how all of them met their target. From they way they flew through the air, the force behind them was staggering. They have no effect, however.

"What?!" I yell, surprise evident in my voice.

Berserker hasn't taken any damage at all from them. Lancer blocks Berserker's attacks. If he tries to move his weapon at a different angle, Lancer moves her spear to meet it. I'm surprised Lancer can even keep up with Berserker. They both have different builds and yet, she's able to match his wild rage. A few more arrows from Archer. Berserker takes them head on, but they're still of no use. How are we going to beat this thing when we can't damage him?

"Rin, what are we going to do?"

"I don't know…"

Rin is worried. She isn't sure what to do. I don't know either. If this keeps up, will we die?

"Ha. Berserker is keeping your Servant on the defense. You really think Lancer could beat him?"

Rin grits her teeth. Even though Lancer is doing well right now, if she's hit even once, she'd be down in an instant and we'll be left defenseless. Archer's arrows are quick, but they have no effect. At least they're good for distractions.

Lancer this time avoids Berserker's attack and takes a thrust at him. Berserker leaps backwards to avoid the attack. Taking quick steps, she drives her spear at him again. Berserker blocks the blow, and reacts by swinging his weapon at her. Lancer crouches to avoid the attack, and spins her spear in the air with her hands, doing a windmill-like attack. Berserker twists his body backwards, narrowingly avoiding the attack.

She's purposely leaving holes in her attacks so that she can counter Berserker. Instead of safely wearing him down, she's putting herself at risk to end this quickly. A dangerous tactic, only a warrior or someone who could analyze the situation well would do such a thing.

"Archer, back Lancer up."

A couple of arrows are fired. Berserker turns around to deflect them. This is it. Lancer lunges at Berserker, thrusts her spear into his shoulder, and leaps back, pulling out the spear. The sounds of flesh being pierced goes through our ears. The first attack that hit, Berserker's shoulder is now bleeding.

"You... you injured Berserker?"

The girl mutters, seemingly stunned at what just happened. I instinctively take a step in front of Rin, only noticing I had done so when I realize I'm not right beside her anymore.

Her eyes then narrow, glaring at us. It seems we've set her off somehow. Her gaze sweeps from me, to Rin, back to me, over to Rin, and then settles on me again.

"So that's how it is, onii-chan? Hmhmhm… Berserker, kill Rin."

I see a small faint red glow from Ilya. I don't know what she did, maybe she used a command spell, but I see Berserker heading towards us at a speed that surpass Lancer's agility. Lancer's fast, but I don't think she can make it to us, unless I use a command spell. Even though I want to use one, I can't use one this early in the war. I need to save Rin. Our distance is only a few meters apart. I run further in front of her.

"Shirou, what are you doing?!"

"Hang on, Rin!"

A weapon. I need a weapon. What can I use as a weapon? The only thing that pops into my mind is what Berserker is holding. Yes. I'll use Projection to copy his sword. I just need to do what I did when I reinforced the poster. I focus my mind. I need to do this quickly, so if it can survive a few hits, I should be fine. Lancer should come here by then if I can at least stall Berserker for for a split second.

"Trace, on."

Keeping my eyes on Berserker's weapon, I channel magical energy through my body. New information suddenly surge in my mind. Why the weapon was created. The basic structure. The materials for creation. How it was made. The history of the weapon. Techniques and skills which would take years to master. Creation of the weapon itself. A firing hammer goes down in my head. Using my brain to keep the structure of the weapon in mind, I pour mana with my left hand to make what's in mind a reality.

A flash of light. I did it. I replicated Berserker's weapon in my left hand. But my body feels warm. My mind can't handle all this info. It feels like it's going to break. This weapon is too heavy. I can barely hold the weapon with my left hand. Yet this also feels light. Who is this person that is holding this sword? Emiya Shirou cannot handle this thing.

"Onii-chan copied Berserker's weapon…?" Ilya says in response to my Projection.

A face of shock. I'd be shocked too if I saw someone did this. Berserker is right in front of me. He swings his weapon at me at a speed where normally I wouldn't be able to react to. I swing mine in response, being slightly faster. Our weapons collide for a split second. The sound of our swords clashing rings through all of our ears in an instant. My weapon breaks soon afterwards. Shards fly in all directions of my failed projection. I didn't project it well enough. I can't project another one in time. If I even try to defend right now I'll be cut in half. I failed. As Berserker raises his weapon to swing at us again...

...Two red spears zoom through the air. They produce a flaming red trail as they fly. Both of them penetrate Berserker's back, as Lancer quickly steps off of his back, pulling out both spears. I can see two large holes that appeared on Berserker's chest, along with some flames. The spears must've burned his insides. Berserker stops his swing and roars in pain. Ilya's face turns into surprise.

"Onii-chan...Your servant is interesting."

Ilya says to us. Archer wasn't able to damage Berserker but my Servant did.

"This is boring. Berserker, let's go home."

Berserker goes back to Ilya's side and they leave the area. I feel dizzy. I used high level magic which my body couldn't handle. But that split second was enough for Lancer to stop his attack.

"Ha...ah…"

I can only breath. My left arm is numb and I have a headache. Lancer and Rin look at me.

"Are you okay? "

They both say to me at the same time. That was the last thing I heard. My body falls forward. I lose consciousness.

* * *

Caster returns to the Church.

"What did you find?" Kotomine asks.

"Hmm, well. Assassin is quite an interesting servant. I can't find Saber anywhere. And as for Lancer…"

A frown appears on Caster's face.

"That boy who summoned Lancer...I don't know who he is, but the Servant he summoned will be an issue for us."

"How so?"

"She's known as a powerful warrior and a witch. There's only one person I know who has that weapon… And with her summoned, that boy is guaranteed to win the war. She's also known as a goddess in some places, you know. I'm pretty sure she's a partial divine spirit since she can't die. She isn't even supposed to be summoned as a Heroic Spirit, yet somehow he summoned her. "

"If you know who she is, then you should know her weakness."

"That's the problem. She doesn't have any that I know of."

"I see… Who is she then?"

"Can't say. I wouldn't want another master to find out if you're interrogated. I mean I could be wrong about my assumptions of her, but we have to assume the worse."

"Is that so? This war will surely be interesting… Although Caster..."

"Yes, Master?"

"You are a Servant. It is highly undignified and uncharacteristic of you to be quaking in your boots."

"M… my apologies, Master."

As Kotomine left the room, Caster slumped against the wall, giving a huge sigh of something similar to despair.

"… If only I could tell my Master how much trouble we're really in…"

* * *

I open my eyes. I'm on my couch at home. This is strange. I wonder where Lancer and Rin are? I look around and see them talking. They notice that I'm awake.

"Ah, you're awake Shirou."

Rin says to me. But there's a different tone to her voice than usual self. I get up from the couch.

"...WHAT WERE YOU DOING, YOU IDIOT?! First of all, did you really think you could handle Berserker yourself? And secondly, what kind of magic did you do back there with Berserker? You said you only know Reinforcement and Projection!"

She's upset about earlier. Even though I saved our lives with my projection, I was almost killed. Not only that, what I did earlier was dangerous. That was the only idea I had at the time, I have no idea what she's so upset about it.

"Rin, I was just trying to protect you."

Rin's face turns red. She's embarrassed.

"Look Shirou. I know you wanted to save me but you could've just ran away. I don't want you to get hurt either. "

That's it. She wants me to know that she cares for my safety too. But I can't agree with her. Any life has much more worth than mine does.

"Sorry Rin. I can't guarantee anything. I can't control myself. I'll be in the shed thinking about today."

Rin sighs at me.

"You're really troublesome, you know that…"

I glance at the clock. It's around midnight. Today has been too much for me. I need to think everything over.

I walk to my shed. I see that everything is scattered. That's right. I still need to clean everything up after being attacked by a Servant. This is where I had summoned Lancer. My left arm feels numb. What happened back there when I tried to project? I was seeing things that weren't my own…

"Hey."

A man dressed in red walks in the shed. Archer. He wears a red overcoat which covers his arms and upper torso. There's also another piece of the overcoat which he wears around his waist and goes down to his foot. His black body armor looks to be made of something that's not currently found in our time, and it looks light to wear. His metal plated boots looks connected to his pants. His skin is tan, his eyes are gray and devoid of emotion, and his hair is white and spiked upwards. I see the injuries from his fight with Lancer all over his body, which are gaping holes. This man reminds me of something, but I just can't put my finger on it. I don't feel well around him.

"I noticed earlier when we were fighting Berserker that you attempted to project his sword? "

Archer plainly says to me.

"Yeah I did. I thought it was a good idea at the time."

I mean, what else could I do? Nothing? I can't read his face. The only expression I see on his face is a frown.

"Look. Emiya Shirou, that is your name right? Let me look at your body."

I don't know why I do so, but I take off my shirt and show Archer my back. A cold hand touches my spine. I feel a sensation all over my body.

"There. This should heal by tomorrow morning. You've been doing magic wrong this whole time. You don't create a new magic circuit. Today, you've opened something up which was sleeping for years."

When have I ever told him that I've been creating my own magic circuits? He's not wrong, I've been doing that for a while now. Today I managed to use magic successfully twice.

"You're wondering how I know? Well, let's just say I had a similar experiences like yours and had one of my arms taken away. That's what it means to learn magic. Sorry I wasn't able to help you and your Servant out much today. As I'm still injured, I couldn't use the more stronger arrows that I have."

Archer is strange. Can he read my mind? He crosses his arms and makes a smug look on his face. I want to punch him, but yet I can't. He turns around and tries to leave, but not before saying something to me.

"One question for you before I go, Emiya Shirou. Are you willing to give up everything to become a hero of justice?"

His question hits my mind. A hero of justice. The willingness to protect everyone even at the cost of my own life. Of course I am. Even at the cost of my life, if I could protect just one life, I'd be happy.

"...Yes."

"I see."

He takes a step forward.

"Sooner or later, you'll find yourself in a position where you can't save everyone. Which will leave you on a path of regret."

With that, Archer leaves the shed. His last words echos through my mind… Lancer passes by Archer, but not before taking a quick glance over at him. Lancer seems to take an interest in Archer. She walks over to me.

"Emiya. We need to discuss some important matters."

"Were you there the whole time?"

"Just in case Archer tried anything."

I nod. "So, what is it?"

We both sit outside. Our backs against the shed's wall. My legs are stretched out in front of me, while while Lancer crosses her legs.

"Emiya."

By her tone alone, I can tell whatever she's about to say, it must be serious.

"You should know that you cannot match a Servant. Yet what you did earlier is quite perplexing to me. Was it Projection? I've never seen anything like what you did against Berserker. Were you scared?"

The last one is a strange question to ask. Well, I wasn't really scared. I was just protecting someone. My head turns towards Lancer.

"No, I wasn't. I just wanted to protect Rin, even if Berserker killed me."

"I see…"

A small smile appears on her face.

"If you were to end up choosing between saving someone's life, or saving yourself, would you not save yourself?"

"I wouldn't. Any life worth protecting certainly isn't mine."

Lancer gives out a small chuckle.

"Is that so? That's an interesting answer."

Suddenly, something strange happens to Lancer. Lancer stops talking for a moment. Her eyes seem to be gazing into something far beyond. Her expression changes to bewilderment. What is she seeing?

"...Saber…?"

She whispers, her eyes returning to the present. She blinks her eyes multiple times.

"Lancer?"

"It's nothing, Emiya. Anyways, I've never had anyone give that answer to me. I have trained many students throughout my life. But this is the first time I've heard of someone who fight exclusively for the sake of others. That's what I like. Courageous people. People who fight for what they believe in. You do believe in that ideal, right?"

I wouldn't use the word courageous to describe me. Determined? Sure. But not courageous. Heck, I don't think that many people would consider me normal. There is only one answer I can give.

"Yeah. Always have, and always will."

My eyes gaze upon Lancer. I'm in close proximity with her, that our shoulders are touching. My heart is beating fast though. Why? This is my Servant, just a familiar. Yet this isn't just a familiar… I think she noticed, as she turns her head to face me.

"Emiya? Is the first time you've seen a woman from Ulster? Is that why you're staring at me intently?" She gives me a loving smile. This is really making me hard to dislike her…

"Wait what? No! I mean, yes! Agh..."

Gah! I'm an idiot. My face turns red. Lancer turns her head back, facing the front of her instead.

"Heh. Well, I can't blame you. That hair color of yours is quite uncommon around here as well. Did you inherit it from your parents?"

"I… I'm not sure. I'm not sure of who my parents are, actually. I almost died in a fire, and then I ended up being adopted by Kiritsugu, my adopted father."

"You've been through a lot, haven't you?"

"I guess you could say that." I shrug. That's a strange question to ask me.

"Well, it can't be helped. I know from just being with you for a bit that there's really not much you even know about yourself, is that correct?"

Lancer is asking some strange questions. She's asking about my sense of self. Can she read who a person is just by a glance? I do know who I am. I know what I want and what to do.

"I mean, I know I want to save people, but I'm not sure how I'll do so."

"Saving people… to achieve that goal, you must overcome some hardships. You know it's not easy to be a hero, right? I had a student who was protecting a whole nation yet he met his demise. Such an unsatisfying end for a hero… "

Lancer looks down and her smile turned into a frown after saying that. I don't know who she's talking about, but whoever it is, she must've taken his death hard. I know it's going to be hard, but I don't care. I'll achieve my dreams somehow. I put my hand on Lancer's shoulder.

"Don't worry, Lancer. I'll be a hero. I won't have any regrets, this is what I want to do. "

Lancer's frown turns back into a smile. Her head once again turns to face me.

"You must really want to achieve your goal. Is that what your father wanted you to be?"

"In a way. "

I've only known Lancer for a while, but I'm already telling her some details of my life. I feel safe around her, so it's no big deal.

"He told me I can't save everyone, and that you'll have to sacrifice others to save people. But I don't believe that. I think you can save everyone if you try hard enough."

Am I saying too much? Lancer is taking in all this info about me. She hasn't responded or interrupted me that much when I explained to her about wanting to be a hero. I wonder why…

"Hey, Lancer? Is something wrong?"

"No. It's just that you look pretty happy when discussing this, or your father so I figured I shouldn't interrupt you."

So that's why. Huh. We've been talking for a while now that I think about it. Lancer is someone that I could trust. In fact, the instant that I saw her fight against Berserker, any doubts I had about her capability was blown away. She can handle herself. And if that's the case, I need to be able to support her.

"Hey Lancer?"

"Hm? I think I know what you're going to ask me, Emiya." Lancer stands up and walks over in front of me.

"You're going to ask if I could train you, right? Well, let me say it for you. Would you like to be my apprentice? I see some qualities in you which I don't see in others. You're quite an interesting person, I must say."

She holds her hand out to me. She sees something in me which is unique. Ever since my father died, I've been training on my own. Today, I've been told my ways of doing magic was wrong, though I'm not sure if Archer was serious or was just joking with me. I'll take her up on her offer. How could this go wrong? I stand up and stretch my hand out to hers, before accepting it.

"Yeah, please make me your apprentice, Lancer. The more I can learn, the more people I can save."

I give her a smile. She smiles back at me as we shake each other hands.

"I do have a question, Lancer. It seems like you didn't have trouble with Berserker? You managed to get a few hits in and avoid his strikes. Why is that?"

"I've dealt with people like him, Emiya. If given enough time, I would of been able to slay him. But the area wasn't ideal for us to fight him. Not only that, I was holding back. After all, if you have a few tricks up your sleeve, you wouldn't want to reveal them early, no?"

She has a point. I still don't know Lancer's true power, but if what she shown tonight is just a small part of what she can do, I think I got this war in the bag. Though I do wonder why she didn't called me stupid for doing something suicidal.

"Also, Lancer? Why aren't you calling me stupid? Rin said so."

"Emiya. She may have called you that, but I think deep down she's thankful for saving her life. You gave enough time for me to stop Berserker. Many people I have known would not do the same as you if they were in the same situation. Instead they'd let that person die."

I think about her words. Other people would let the person die huh…

"You do seem to stick your nose into trouble though. Or should I say, trouble comes to you? Just promise me that you'll be more careful next time."

Ha. It's a combination of both. After all, it was my fault I got stabbed by Caster, yet because of that I somehow summoned Lancer. I'm both lucky and unlucky at the same time. I look up at the sky. The moon is out. It's a beautiful sight. Have we been outside that long?

"Yeah… I guess I should be careful about myself next time. It's getting late, Lancer. I better sleep."

I take a step forward, but before I am able to leave the backyard, Lancer puts both her hands on my shoulders.

"Emiya. How would our sleeping arrangements be? "

Huuuuuuuuh? At that instant my face turns red.

"W-what are you talking about Lancer?"

"In case an enemy appears in your household, I'll be right next to you. Tonight you showed me that you can handle yourself, but a Servant is still a Servant. You need protection. "

That's a weird way to put it. I'm too tired right now to argue with her…

"...Fine. Just sleep in the corner of the room or something. Not in the same bed. "

"So be it… _Master_."

...I'm honestly too sleepy to really deal with this… I just hope it doesn't come to bite me later.

We both leave the backyard. I take a shower to wash myself off. I throw away my old shirt which was still covered in blood. Hopefully Sakura or Taiga doesn't see that in the trash. Or ask about my table. I head towards my room. I see Lancer in the corner of my eyes, sleeping while sitting down with her legs crossed. That's a strange way to sleep. I turn off the lights and began to get some shut-eye. And in my dreams, I see a barren landscape of infinite blades...

* * *

 **A/N:** This chapter took a while for me to type up. I kept rewriting both the fight scene and the Lancer and Shirou talk to try and get their personalities down. I think for all the lack of resources I have on Lancer, I did an okay job. You know how F/SN had some slice of life scenes right? Expect them to be in this story too.


	4. Chapter 4

Shirou was asleep, but Lancer pretended to be sleeping. She is still awake.

 _I don't think Rin and Archer left yet. I'd better check to see if they're in the living room._ Lancer quietly stands up and slowly makes her way to the living room. There she sees Rin and Archer, sitting on the couch.

"Hey."

Lancer calls both of them. Rin gaze in Lancer's direction.

"Huh, you're still awake Lancer?"

"Yes. My apologies, my Master is tired from tonight. I should be asking you that question, however. Isn't it strange for a high school girl like you to be staying over at a man's home?"

Rin is surprised, not quite comprehending what Lancer said for a second. She didn't expect to hear that from Lancer.

"I agree with Lancer. Rin, are you sure there's nothing going on with you and Emiya Shirou?" Archer says, his arms crossed with a smug smile on his face.

"No! Archer, shut up!" Rin yells at Archer.

"Oh? You'll wake up the boy, Rin. Your actions aren't matching your words." Archer replies.

"Ugh! Why are you such a hard Servant to work with?! Lancer, I'll be going home now."

Rin stands up, and walks past Lancer. Archer follows through but-

"Archer. Stay here for a second, I'd like to talk to you." Lancer says, a tone of clear authority in her voice.

Archer stops in his tracks. "Hm? Lancer, you're going tell me something?"

Rin however, is outside of the household, waiting for Archer. She's far enough that she can't hear what Archer and Lancer will talk about.

"Thank you, Archer…"

Archer is caught off guard, taking a moment as if to double check he heard her correctly. _This is quite peculiar. That boy's Servant is thanking me?_

After a brief pause, Archer chose only a few, carefully chosen words. "I appreciate your thanks."

"But why did you do it? Why would you heal my Master even though we're enemies? That's quite unusual for any Servant or Master to do."

For a moment, Archer thinks of his words. _I feel like if say anything wrong, I'll end up on the business end of her spear._

"Rin was distressed at Emiya Shirou being in pain. Something like losing his arm will send Rin into further spiral of instability. I refuse to have my Master be in that state because of that. Therefore, I healed him to prevent that."

Lancer takes in Archer's reply. Then…

"Is that so? What about those last words you said to him?"

 _Tch. I didn't expect her to hear them._ Archer thinks to himself. _There is most likely no way I can simply talk my way out of this...If what that dog says is true, this person is much much scarier than Rin..._

"Hm? It's nothing to be concerned about, Lancer."

Archer completely sidesteps her question, but Lancer isn't accepting his answer. Almost instantly, the atmosphere changes.

"...Archer~"

 _Looks like I answered incorrectly._ Archer would be scared, but he's keeping himself calm, if barely. Lancer gives Archer a smile, but not one that shows happiness. One which is akin to murderous intent.

"I _know_ you were there. I saw it with my own eyes. You were in the shed, talking to Emiya. Your last words to him were "Sooner or later, you'll find yourself in a position where you can't save everyone. Which will leave you on a path of regret." Considering you told my Master that he'll be "on a path of regret", this does concern me. Don't play with me, Archer." Lancer glares to Archer, as if she's giving him a warning.

 _Yep. I can see why she's a scarier Rin now. Lancer's eyes convey a message. One that she will not tolerate such attempts to tamper with his mind. Like a person who has found something that must be protected._

Before Archer can reply...

"Archer! Hurry up! I'm getting sleepy…"

Rin calls out to him, telling him to hurry up.

"I'm afraid we'll have to discuss this another time, Lancer. My Master is calling out to me."

With that, Archer walks past Lancer, who makes no attempt to stop him.

 _I can't believe that boy summoned her out of all people._ Archer sighs to himself.

 _Archer… I should keep my eyes on him._ Lancer thinks to herself. _Archer is such a strange individual, indeed._

"Also, Archer?"

Archer stops.

"My apologies for attacking you earlier. Though, when I looked at your face, you did seem surprised."

 _Uh oh. Where is she going with this?_ Archer asks himself.

"Who were you expecting? Saber?"

Archer cringes from her words, before leaving the Emiya household. _Truly this woman is frightening._

* * *

A landscape.

Throughout this barren place all I see are countless weapons stuck to the ground as if they're just like gravestones. It consists mostly of swords, but I do see other close ranged weapons such as spears and halberds. I can't count all of them. Are the amount of blades in this area infinite? All of these are finely made. What gets my attention though, are a few weapons. I see Archer's swords, which are a pair of shortswords. One of them is a black sword, which is covered in a hexagonal pattern, and the other, which is white with less shine of a polished metal in its ore than it has the haze of a cloud. They lack in history, but I can tell that they were crafted to perfection. Another notable weapon is Lancer's spear itself. It's a weapon that has slain many things such as gods, wraiths, and spirits. Truly a fitting weapon for someone like her. I reach my hand out. I want to grab it. As my hand approaches however, my dream came to a stop.

I wake up from my slumber. Today's a weekday so I still have to go to school even though I'm in a war. This is the second day since I've become a Master. I go through my daily routine. I hear the door ring. I can't let myself get the door right now since I'm using the stove.

"Lancer, can you get that?"

I shout to her. Now that I think about it, I haven't seen her in my room this morning… Then the realization pops up in my mind. I forgot Lancer doesn't have an extra set of clothes.

"Hello senp-"

I hear a familiar voice who stops short of finishing a sentence. I know who that is. I hear her footsteps walking in my home. As the owner of the voice comes closer and closer, I feel a crushing sense of dread as her easily recognizable voice enters my ears.

"Senpai. Who is this?"

I turn off the stove. She points at Lancer. I didn't realize Sakura would be here today. I look at Lancer, hoping she'll come up with something.

Lancer closes her eyes and smiles at Sakura.

"I am why Shirou needed protection last night."

Silence. Sakura slowly turns her head mechanically, as if her head were a clock's hand ticking in small, regular intervals, from Lancer to me.

"Senpai. Is what she said true?"

"Er. Technically yes."

"..."

Silence again. Lancer, you were supposed to help me! Look at what you've done!

"Okay, look Sakura. I didn't mean it that way! I mean, she's a family friend of Kiritsugu. She's here looking for someone. She's a caretaker so that's what she meant by protection!"

Sakura is angry. I need a miracle to escape this situation. The phone rings. Great! I can use this to get out of my situation right now.

"Hey, I'm getting that."

I pick up the phone.

"Hey Shirou! This is Taiga calling. Just letting you know, I cancelled my day off today to teach. So you better bring me some food. I'm want something hot right now, make me some soup. Hand it to me during first period. 'Kay thanks bye."

She hangs up. I look back at Sakura. She seems to be more relaxed now. This would be a good time to explain more clearly.

"Sorry Sakura. She arrived last night, so I was surprised too. She's just a friend of Kiritsugu who is looking for someone and watching me for a while. Nothing more, nothing less."

"...If Shirou says so."

She glances down. She's calm. Hopefully nothing like this happens again.

"Another question. What happened to the table?"

She points at the empty space where the table used to be. I can't tell her some crazy man turned my table into a spear and tried to kill me. But what can I tell her? I'll just say something simple.

"We're renovating, but need to buy a new table. "

"Ah, okay. Do you need help?

"Nah, I'm good. You can wait outside for me, I need to talk with my guest. "

Sakura nods and waits outside. I walk to a safe, enter the combination, and open it. There's a credit card inside. I take the card and lock the safe. This is some money that Kiritsugu had left me before he died. There's enough to last me years, so Taiga's taken most of the money because she's worried I might carelessly spend it. I did ended up talking to her to allow me some in case of emergencies which is why this credit card has some cash in it. Because of that, I usually work to get money.

"Lancer, come here."

I use my finger to direct Lancer to me. She walks over to me.

"Here's my card. Could you buy a new table for my home and some clothes for yourself? I don't think they'll ask you for a pin, but if so, there's a note on the back of the card. Don't show it to anyone or lose it."

Truth be told, Kiritsugu had some clothes which would be useful for Lancer, but the sizes are too small for… Lancer's body type. I hand the card to her.

"There's a raincoat somewhere here. You could wear that since most of the clothes won't fit you. I'll be going to school soon after I cook food for my teacher though. "

Before I'm able to stand up though…

"Wait. Emiya? Would you be okay at school? Rin is a Master, so what if she attacks you?"

I shake my head.

"Don't worry Lancer, I'll be fine. Besides, a Master won't attack me at school, right? "

She pauses for a bit.

"Okay. I'll wait for you after school."

Taking the raincoat, she puts it on. I went to my room to get things for school today. I hear the phone ring, before it stops soon afterwards. Lancer must've gotten the phone. This is going to be a long day.

* * *

Lancer walks around a shopping district. She gets stares from everyone due to her appearance. Seriously, a raincoat on a sunny day? Shirou told her to buy a new table and clothes.

"A new table huh? I don't think I'll buy a new table when he can project a new one. Though I don't know if he could do that, perhaps I could teach him how to..."

As Lancer was walking, one store catches her eye. It's a clothing shop. Its target audience are primarily those going to a business setting. Though, if someone is trendy enough, they could wear these clothes to a place such as a school. An idea pops up in Lancer's head.

"Hmmm…"

* * *

I'm carrying food for Taiga, my first period teacher with Sakura. We both arrive at the school gate. Not only she's my homeroom teacher, she also teaches English.

"See you later, Senpai. Will you be visiting the Archery club today?"

"Maybe. I'm not sure. Depends on if I have things to fix today."

Sakura walks off. I head towards my first period class. That's weird, I don't see Taiga here today. Usually she's late, but she still arrives before the bell rings. I start to worry for her. How can she be late? I take a seat. Soon, it's only a minute before the bell will ring.

"Hey, I heard we have a substitute today. You saw her? She's cute. "

"No I didn't heard. Yeah I think I saw her. You think she's single?"

I overhear a conversation around me from two male students. A substitute teacher for this period? Taiga said she'd be here today...

"You think she'll give us lots of homework?"

"I don't know man, I'm not the teacher. "

"I haven't seen how she looks. She must be attractive, right?"

Loud discussions about a substitute teacher suddenly fills the room. My fears are escalating. Could it be that Taiga changed her mind at the last minute? The bell rings. Still no teacher in sight. The whole class quiets down as I hear footsteps approaching the door.

"Sorry I'm late class, but I'll be your substitute teacher."

I recognize that voice. You've got to be kidding me. My fears are correct as she emerges from the door. In fact, I suddenly wish that Caster had succeeded in killing me considering Sakura's reaction this morning. It surely will be getting worse.

Lancer walks through the door. Her outfit is different. She is wearing a dark black trenchcoat which goes down all the way to her thighs along with a matching black skirt. She wears dark tights. I could see that she's wearing something underneath that coat, as it's a white button up shirt. Near the upper part of her chest though, she left the coat unbuttoned. As for her feet, she's wearing black high heels. In one of her hands, she is holding what seems to be a clipboard and a pair of glasses. No wonder people were talking about Lancer, if I didn't know her earlier I could fall in love too. I hate to say it, but she looks beautiful in that outfit. If she knew what I think of her right now, I'll never hear the end of it.

"I'll be your substitute teacher. As for your original teacher, I've talked to her personally and she says she'll be on vacation for an undisclosed amount of days. So I'll be here for a while."

I look around the class. All the males are looking closely at Lancer. Meanwhile, all the females have a look of disgust on their faces, as if they're thinking that all boys are just perverted monsters. Well, they're not far from the truth. I deliberately ignore looking at Lancer, hoping that she'll ignore me.

"For my name, Just call me Ms. S. Alternatively, you could also call me Sensei, or Shishou."

A student raises his hand. I look at the direction. It's a male student. Oh boy…

"Shishou, are you married?"

Okay, what the hell. You never ask teachers that question.

"Hmmm. No, I'm not."

"SHE'S SINGLE! WE HAVE A CHANCE!"

As if they're happy to guess the correct answer, all the male students cheer except me, my face held in a flux of despair and tiredness. I facepalm. This is really stupid. They clearly have no shame. Way to show how the male population acts, will you?

"Alright, I'll be taking attendance now."

Lancer goes down the attendance sheet-Oh no. She's going to see my name… Please ignore me. Please skip my name. Is this classroom high enough from the first floor that I'd be able to survive jumping out the window? My heart beats faster and faster as she goes through the list… My name's approaching.

"E...Emiya Shirou?"

She calls out my name. I raise my head up and look at her. There's no way I can escape my fate now. I raise my hand.

"Here."

We lock eyes. There's a definite, palatable silence that hangs in the air. The class watches, as if waiting to see who will make the first move. It's clear that she's looking at me, almost as if she were analyzing my entire figure.

Lancer breaks the silence.

"Emiya Shirou, please stay after class. I'd like to talk to you~"

With a tone of both malice and enjoyment, she tells me to stay after class. I can feel all the male students eyes gaze upon me. At this rate, I won't die by a Servant. I'm going to die from male students due to jealousy.

* * *

First period goes by fast. I wasn't paying attention at all in class. Not like I can anyways when I have almost all the male students out to get me. A minute before the bell rings. I'm going to run. Thirty seconds. Fifteen seconds. Five seconds. The bell rings. I stand up and just as I'm about to run….

"Emiya Shirou. Don't run off. You're forgetting that we need to talk after class."

Damn it! Now I can't leave at all. I slump back in my chair as the other students leave class. There's a ten minute break between each period. Hopefully Lancer doesn't take all of those ten minutes. She walks over to my desk.

"Emiya."

I look right into her eyes. She's wearing those glasses. The classroom is empty as the girls noticed I wasn't lecherously looking at Lancer and forced the boys out to spare me from their jealous rampage. I thank whatever deity is listening that this is the case.

"Sorry if this is off-topic, but are those real glasses or you're wearing them for fun?"

"For fun. That's not what I'm here to talk to you about though. Originally, I was going to just wait outside for you. But I decided, I'll be your teacher for the duration of this war. You want to still go to school? Then you can. I'll be here in case there's a Servant here."

"...So you're telling me you're my substitute teacher and this isn't a poor joke? Where's the real substitute."

"Yup. This isn't a joke, I am your substitute teacher."

My head is throbbing. I think I'm getting a headache. Instead of waiting outside, she'll be in this school as a substitute teacher. How can a warrior who teaches people to kill others in over twenty different ways can be a school teacher? One question pops up in my mind.

"Hey, if this is so... Where's Taiga?"

"Oh her? I talked to her this morning over the phone when she called to check if you were making that soup for her. She's fine with it, and she's asked if she'd like to have dinner with me later. I mentioned how I'm staying at your home for a while and explained how I'm Kiritsugu's acquaintance. We should buy food later for the dinner after school."

So even Taiga is okay with this. If this keeps up, I'll turn into a Berserker by the end of this war.

"That's all I have to talk with you about for now. Oh, by the way. Your English grades are great, but you really have to work on Math. I'll help raise your Math grades when we get home."

Oh great. She's looking at my school records too.

"Can I go now?"

"Wait. Emiya, do you have any food? I'm hungry…"

Her stomach rumbles. I look at the food on my desk.

"Well...That was suppose to be for Taiga, but since she's not here today, you can have it Lancer."

"Thanks Emiya. You'll definitely get an A if you keep this up! Five stars! You can leave now."

She smiles and gives me a thumbs up. I can't tell if she's joking, or if she's really serious about giving me an A. That's a scary thought. I leave the room and look around. I've been hearing rumors that there's a substitute for one of the Chemistry classes during first period. Apparently all the female students love him. I don't have that class until later in the day, so I can't confirm it and it just bugs me. Rin walks past me and she whispers in my ears as we pass by.

"Hey. Visit me on the roof during lunch."

Why would she want to talk to me? I've already got most of the students in my first period wanting to kill me. Talking to Rin would ruin me further. I should talk to her though, or else she'd kill me instead.

* * *

Lunch period arrives. I walk past my homeroom and take a quick glance of it. There are lots of students in that class. Is Lancer really that popular? As I slowly ascend each staircase, the noises from the students slowly fade out. I see Rin. I don't see anyone else though, not even Archer is here.

"Ah, thought you wouldn't visit, Shirou."

She walks towards me. I have a bad feeling about this.

"Well, Archer says he promised not to kill you. He says your classmates will probably do you in than a Servant at this rate. Which brings me to why I asked you to come here. Why is Lancer at school?!"

Rin is shocked. She knows.

"Huh? I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh pfft. Don't kid around, Shirou. I heard rumors there was a red-haired substitute and all the guys are fawning over her. I also heard that you were seen spotted talking to her after class. It's all over the school now."

You're kidding me. I'm going to be known as the guy making moves on teachers at this rate.

"Okay, it wasn't my choice. Lancer says she just wants to stay here at school instead of waiting at my home, so she's masquerading as a teacher."

Her expression changes.

"Huh… So that's why. Are you sure you're just not planning to kill me later?"

"No! Why would I do that?" I say as I wave my hands around to show that I mean it.

"Hmph. Fine. You better not do anything suspicious with Lancer around though."

That's weird to say. Though, since we're still up on the roof, I might as well ask her something that's been on my mind…

"Hey, Rin? You know anything about the Chemistry substitute?"

"Yeah. I only some things, mainly the fact that he came from another country and that he has a foreign name. Sorry, that's all I know."

So she's clueless too. What a shame.

"Well if that's it, I'll be going now."

I head towards the stairs and left the rooftop. There's still time left during lunch before I go to my next period, which is Chemistry. I head towards my homeroom and I see less people, though there's still some people here.

"Oh, hi Emiya. You're here."

Lancer looks at me. I glance at her desk. The container is empty, and there's her drink that's empty. She must've been really hungry to finish all that food. There's also a bunch of chocolates and flowers scattered throughout her desk? I don't recall seeing them earlier today.

"What's with the flowers and chocolates? "

"Students gave me these chocolates and flowers. I tried saying no but they won't take no as an answer, so a lot of the students gave me them. Especially the male students."

Some of my classmates even bought Lancer flowers and chocolates to impress her. I'm not even sure if I should feel impressed or not that she have these many admirers. I ask her a question that has been bugging me since first period.

"Do you know anything about the Chemistry teacher?"

I asked Rin and she didn't know much. Maybe Lancer knows.

"No, sorry. I haven't had any time to check on the other teachers. So far all my periods have been busy and I haven't had a break, especially with all the male students."

She smirks at me. She doesn't know about him either.

"Well, you want me to talk to him, Emiya? I wouldn't mind."

"Yeah, that helps. Thanks. I apologize for the weird request."

The bell rings.

"We'll see each other soon."

Lancer says to me as I leave her class. I head towards my Chemistry class, which is an anomaly in the school since unlike other classes, it has its own room due to the equipment required. It's on a different floor. I use a staircase to get to a different floor. I enter the classroom. Lab goggles line the tables. I see a few empty seats left, so I choose a spot in the back and sit down. The teacher comes in.

"Sorry students. I had to take care of some business."

For a Chemistry teacher he dresses fancily. He wears a white dress shirt, an olive green vest, and a black and grey jacket draped across his shoulders. He wears a black and white handkerchief with a red jewel around his neck, and leather gloves over his hands. His hair is a light shade of blonde, with almost an undertone of orange, his eyes are emerald color, and he looks young. He sure does look foreign.

"Call me Mr. H."

A student raises her hand.

"What's your full name?"

"... Henry Hyde." Or at least, that's how I think one would spell it.

Silence. Another student raises a hand, this time a male.

"Hyde like from the book Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?"

The teacher looks distressed. I notice the teacher takes a marker and writes on the board. He writes the word Hyedfe on the board.

"Spelled uh, H-Y-E-D-F-E. The F is silent! Um, English has many ridiculous and silly rules, as you may know, which is why it's spelled that way."

English is a strange language indeed. I look around the classroom. All the females looks lovestruck just by looking at the chemistry teacher. Wow.

"A-anyways… Now that that's over. Open your books to page 253. We'll be learning about the periodic table today. "

* * *

School ends. Today was a long day. I don't have anything to fix after school so I decide to visit the archery room. Bows and arrows are placed at the corner of the room. It's been a while since I used a bow. I pick up a bow and a couple of arrows. I hear footsteps. From the door emerges Lancer, who is holding a paper bag.

"What are you doing here?"

She lowers her bag and walks over to me. I'm still carrying the bow and arrows with both my hands.

"Well, I'm just checking out the Archery room. I never told you this huh? I was one of the best Archery members at my school. All the shots I fire were right in the middle, except for this one time where I knew it would miss. Even then, it was still pretty close to the mark. Eventually, I injured my shoulder and stopped going to Archery club."

Lancer's eyes sparks up. She seems interested in me now when I mentioned my Archery skills.

"I see. Show me your skills with a bow then. "

She took a step back. I look to the side of me. There's targets that are a few meters away. I step into the shooting range. There's three targets that I'm marking. I have three arrows. I lift the bow with my right hand. I take the form that I used to do while I was in Archery club. The eight stages of shooting. I remember the last few steps, Kai, Hanare, and Zanshin. Unity of the self and the target. Releasing the arrow which has become yourself. After releasing the arrow, knowing that you'll hit the target with extreme accuracy. I notch the arrow in the palm of my left hand and mark all three targets. I'll hit the bullseye and won't miss.

Three arrows fly in the air. With each arrow, they all hit the bullseye. I haven't lost my Archery skills at all.

"Wow. I'm impressed. I haven't seen a student of mine who is good at Archery like you are. Perhaps you could teach me as well? "

I do miss Archery. Maybe when this is all over I'll rejoin the Archery club. I take the arrows off the targets and put the bow and arrows away.

"Hey, Lancer? You said earlier Taiga will visit, right? We better get some food. "

Lancer picks up her bag. I wonder what's inside…

"Oh yeah, what's in the bag, Lancer? "

"Oh. These are the chocolate and flowers students gave me. I received a lot today so I'm just planning to finish them later. As for the flowers… They're pretty and they smell quite nice. I never seen these flowers back at where I lived in."

She smiles at me. This woman who last night fought against servants and lived is now acting more innocent.

"Huh. That's not really like you…"

A slight blush appears on her face.

"Hey now...Even if I am a warrior. I still have some weaknesses..."

* * *

Lancer and I arrive home. We have all the food necessary for our dinner when Taiga comes over to visit. She is a heavy eater after all. Today was a long day for me and I can only foresee how this would continue to keep up. I put on my apron and prepare the food. Now that I think about it, I wonder if Lancer could cook as well?

"Hey, Lancer? Could you help me cook too?"

She looks at me with surprise.

"Huh? I don't know if I'm good at preparing food. I'm trained in the arts of fighting, though my cooking skills certainly isn't as good as yours."

"Don't be so down. Everyone can cook, right? As long as the dish you create is from you, then it doesn't matter if it's bad or not. They'll appreciate that gesture."

While my words are cheesy to say, it is true. People like the gesture of someone making food for someone else.

"Heh. If you say so, then hand me the knife."

Lancer takes off her coat, and puts on a spare apron. I hand Lancer the knife. At superhuman speeds, she cuts up all the vegetables in less than thirty seconds. With Lancer being a Servant, she finishes a task which should take a couple of minutes quickly.

"You're pretty good, Lancer."

She says nothing, instead focusing on the enemy in front of her: preparing a meal for a group of three. After a while, Lancer had finished preparing the food.

"Thanks, Lancer. I think Taiga should be coming soon. I just realized. What about the table, Lancer?"

"Oh, don't worry about it. I'll do something about, go and get the door. I believe she's coming over soon."

The bell rings. I walk over to open it and it was Taiga, my homeroom teacher. She's dressed in her usual outfit.

"Ah, hello Shirou. I heard you're allowing a woman to stay over your home?"

She comes closer to my ears and whispers something to me.

"Are you into older woman, Shirou?"

At that instant, my whole face turns red. I don't know what she wants me to say.

"Taiga, let's just eat already. I know you must be hungry."

"Hohoho, Shirou isn't answering my question."

Taiga smirks at me. My luck must be really low if I keep getting into situations.

Taiga and I went to the living room. I see that there's now a table in the area again. I need to remember to thank Lancer later. Taiga closes her eyes, and smells the scent in the air.

"Wow, this food smells great! Compliments to the chef. You did cooked this, right Shirou?"

"Nope, actually Lan- I mean my guest did." I shake my head. I almost let that slipped out.

"If that's the case, I like your cooking. Now tell me a bit more about yourself before we start eating."

With both my eyes and Taiga's on Lancer, Lancer quickly replies.

"Well. I'm here to watch over Emiya Shirou, of course. I'm an acquaintance of Kiritsugu. That's not the only reason I'm here though. There's a certain...old student of mine who a bit of a pyromaniac..."

Oh, I think I have an idea of exactly WHO she's talking about.

"...Therefore, I'll be staying at Emiya's house for a bit to look for him. I hope you don't mind. I also have other reasons for being here, but they're personal."

Taiga was taking this all in. Lancer had created a backstory, I wonder if Taiga will accept her story?

"I see. If you're here just to visit a student of yours, then it's alright. Shirou, you did clean up the guest room for her, right?"

I open my mouth, but Lancer interrupts me.

"Actually. Emiya Shirou has allowed me to sleep with him in his room."

Taiga's mood has changed. Great, what is she feeling right now?

"Shirou…"

I brace myself for the incoming words as Taiga turns around to face me.

"...So you are into older woman, eh? "

"That's not it!"

Lancer's devious smile appears on her face. My Servant is scary. Extremely scary.

We end up finishing dinner in an hour and Taiga leaves the house. She's going to return home. I wasn't really paying attention to her conversations between Lancer but they seemed to be on good terms with each other. The only person left here is Lancer. I ask her, when are we going to start training? I did accepted her offer last night.

"Finish your homework, Emiya. When you're done, meet me at your shed. We're going to start your training today."

* * *

 **A/N** : Before anyone ask, yes. Scathach-Sensei is a thing. Why not? As to how she can fit in? You know how one of her skills give her any skills she wants? Let's just say she gives herself Presence Concealment to not give off Servant vibes.


	5. Chapter 5

I enter the shed. There I see Lancer standing in the middle of the shed. She is still wearing her school outfit.

"You're not wearing your other outfit?"

"No. Why? Would you focus better if I did?"

"Uh, no. Thanks for answering my question though."

"Today we'll be focusing on your magic. Are you aware of the old Celtic traditions when we train? We wear war paint. Only war paint."

She's holding a bucket of paint and a paintbrush in both hands.

"Do I have to put on paint?"

"You don't want to get your clothes sweaty, no? Or would you rather wear the bodysuit I made for you instead?"

In an instant, she's holding a red bodysuit. Where did she even get that? Maybe this was a mistake to accept her apprenticeship…

"You know what, I'll just stick with my regular clothes, Lancer. Maybe another time, but not now."

Lancer's face turns to disappointment. She really wanted me to put on the outfit she made...

"Tell me, Emiya. What magic do you know of? I recall a previous conversation with Rin that you only use Reinforcement and Projection magic."

"Yeah. I'm not that amazing compared to Rin Tohsaka."

Lancer is absorbing all this info about me. From what I've seen of her, she's an amazing warrior. I must've disappointed her with my lack of talents. I wish my dad taught me more magic before he died. Lancer takes a deep breath.

"Alright. Here."

She hands me a pipe from the shed.

"Show me how you use magic, then I'll come up with a plan on how we can improve yourself. Go ahead and reinforce it."

She stares at me. Okay, this is making me kind of nervous. What if I anger her? I have to do what I did the previous night.

"Trace, on."

My whole body loosens up. I need to focus. I need to convert parts of my nerves into a Magic Circuit again. I feel pain that's like inserting a hot iron rod into my spine. As I do the procedure however…

"Emiya. Stop this instant."

I stop. My body hurts. Lancer forces me to stop making a Magic Circuit.

"Why Lancer?"

"I came from a time where magic is different than what it is right now. But I am aware of what a Magic Circuit is. My question to you is: You do know that what did you earlier could've killed you, right?"

I think she caught onto my habit. Well, I can't really lie to my Servant.

"No?"

"Look Emiya. What you did earlier was that you tried to make your nerves a Magic Circuit. You don't even need to do that, since I sense that you have your own. 27 to be exact. They seemed to have been used recently, though I'm going to assume you didn't knowingly open them up for the first time. How long have you been doing this?"

How long? I was taught magic, at least until Kiritsugu died. After his death, I still practice my magic on my own. I mean, doesn't everyone else creates their own Magic Circuits using their nerves? It seems to work. It did last night when I reinforced the poster.

"I've been doing it for around...ten years? I mean, you do create your own Magic Circuits, right? My dad died before he was able to continue teaching me magic, so all the things I've been doing the past five years are things I did on my own."

"..."

Lancer is stunned. Her face have that look of uncertainty to it. For the first time since I summoned her, she was shocked. She takes a deep breath.

"It's time for a lesson. I'll be teaching you how Magic Circuits works, because it seems to me that you've been doing something that could've killed you for the past ten years. Miraculously, you've survived that reckless process. Looks like your teacher didn't know about your habit, or did so and taught you the wrong way to use magic on purpose."

I prepared to take some mental notes for her lecture.

"You're born with an already decided amounts of circuits. Sometimes you're born with none, in which case, you'll have little to no magical capability. If you are born with circuits though, then you'll be able to use magic. The average amount is 20, but you surprisingly have an above average amount of 27. For the most part though, your circuits have been sleeping and been forgone for your fake circuits you've made. At least, until recently. I believe last night when you used magic during Berserker's attack, you unknowingly activated your Magic Circuits."

Is that what I did against Berserker? Used my real Magic Circuits?

"Wait, Lancer. I have a question."

"Yes?"

"What do you mean activated my circuits?"

"Each Magus has an image of a switch in their minds which they use to activate their circuits."

"Huh… So I saw an image of a firing hammer going down last night."

That's right. Last night when I attempted to project Berserker's sword, a firing hammer went down in my head. I felt my body burning up when it happened. Not only that, half my body turned numb.

"Then that's your switch. Now, since you converted part of your nerves into Magic Circuits, when you activated your circuits last night your body entered a state of shock. It wasn't used to all that magical energy flowing through your body because of your unused circuits. It'll take a while before your body adjust to it, but we don't have a while. Luckily, I can help speed up that process which would take years to about thirty minutes. Take off your shirt, Emiya."

First Archer, now Lancer? A lot of Servants want to see me shirtless for some reason. I comply and I take off my shirt. Lancer slowly walks around me, observing my now naked chest.

"Looks like you don't have any Magic Crests either. This makes teaching you magic much more difficult. They're basically the inheritance of knowledge from a lineage, circuits given form. They allow you to use spells that your ancestors had mastered easily. You said you were adopted, right? So even then, I don't think you could of inherited your father's old crest because you're not part of his lineage, or it'd be extremely difficult to transplant it."

I nod at her statement. Being taught magic would be much more difficult than I thought it'd be.

"We'll both sit down. Turn around. I'll put my hand on your back. It may be cold, but don't let it bother you. It may hurt, but I'm not only going to be speeding up the process of your magic circuits adjusting to your body, I'll be healing them as well. "

I take a deep breath as we both sat down. I close my eyes and turn around.

"Ready?"

"Yeah. Ready Lancer."

"Try not to scream."

I start to regret my decision as my whole body feels pain. Lancer's magical energy is flowing through my body. Years and years of converting my nerves to circuits is being undone right now. It hurts. It really hurts…!

"AAAAAAHHHHHH!"

"Shh. Emiya. Quiet."

Quiet? How can I stay quiet when all I'm feeling is pain right now?!

"Ah...guh...kuh…"

"Don't worry. You'll feel pain for the first fifteen minutes, though eventually you'll get used to it."

That's not helpful at all!

"Agh…"

"Oh? Those constant grunts could be mistaken for something else, Emiya. Something much naughtier. Hmhm, maybe you're enjoying this? Who are you thinking of? Are you replacing me with Rin? Sakura perhaps? Hm, maybe even Taiga? Or maybe you're just thinking of me? Sorry Emiya, but that's a no."

Lancer, that's not funny at all. You're not the one whose body is trying to readjust itself after years of doing magic wrong. Converting my nerves to Magic Circuits was the dumbest idea I've ever done. At least I know not to do it again. After a while I no longer feel Lancer's magical energy flowing through me.

"There. This should do the trick."

My body falls forward. I can't move my body right now. After all, I did convert part of my nerves into Magic Circuits. If I had known earlier while Kiritsugu was alive, I wouldn't be feeling this much pain right now. At least I'm still conscious.

"Lancer… please don't do that again."

"I'm not the one who created fake Magic Circuits. As long as you don't create any fake ones again, you'll be fine."

I can't argue about that. I didn't know till recently. Eventually, I'm able to move my body, so I stand up. I glance at the clock. An hour has passed, but it felt like an eternity. I pick up the pipe from earlier.

"You still want me to reinforce this object?"

Lancer nods at me. With my newfound knowledge, I think I can manage to reinforce this with success.

"Trace, on."

A firing hammer goes down in my mind. My circuits flare up. My body heats up a bit. I analyze the structure of the pipe. Things like what it's made of and the manufacturing process are in my mind. To do Reinforcement correctly, I need to to understand the structure of the object fully. I have experience doing so, as I fixed a lot of things at my school. So this step is easy for me to do. It's the next step that I have trouble with, and hopefully what Lancer did to my body would help me with that. Reinforcement is increasing the effectiveness of something, like say, the sharpness of a knife, the level of nutrition in food or your eyes to see things farther away. Failing to reinforce something, however, is like poison. The object would reject the mana, and if used on a living object, they'll probably die at worst, or end up being injured. I pour my mana through the pipe. I just need to fill this pipe with as much magical energy as I can with the correct amount, and I should be good.

A few seconds later, I stop the flow of mana between the pipe and I. I think I did it. It was a success. But to make sure, I hand it to Lancer.

"Did I reinforce this right?"

She closely examines the pipe. She crouches down, and swings the pipe at a broken appliance. A slight crack appears on the appliance, and the pipe becomes slightly bent.

"Hmm. You still need to work on transferring mana to another object. But this isn't bad for your first try, especially when using your real circuits."

I smile. I actually succeeded. Out of reflex, I hug Lancer.

"Thanks, Lancer! You're amazing! Without you, I don't think I could've done this."

Lancer struggles in my grip. She isn't using her full strength to escape. Her whole face turns a bright shade of red.

"While I appreciate your kind gesture towards me, can you please let go? This is the only time you'll ever hear me say this to you Emiya, but put on your shirt."

I release her. I look down. Oh right, I forgot to put on my shirt.

"Sorry, Lancer."

I quickly put on my shirt. I look around the room. I notice the pots that I projected earlier, even before I summoned Lancer. I pick one up.

"Hey, Lancer? Could you take a look at this Projection?"

She takes it from my hands. Like the pipe from before, she examines it. She shakes it around and she smashes it to the ground. It breaks into many pieces, before disappearing.

"Why did you break it, Lancer?"

"At close examination, I can immediately tell that you've projected this more than a few weeks back, correct?"

I nod my head in response.

"But something's weird about your Projection. Usually they only last a few hours, but the pot you projected lasts more than that. Last night when you projected Berserker's sword, I can tell that Projection of that sword is different from normal Projection. A pot is simple to project, even a flawed one, but it's still worth noting that it shouldn't last more than a week, at most. And that's when it's a great projection. Usual projections lasts for only a couple of minutes."

Lancer's spear appears in her hand. In a second, another copy appears, this time in her other hand.

"See this? I can use Projection too. Though, my copies are much much weaker than the original spear itself. Usually, it's a spell that's regarded by many as worthless, though if you study it hard enough, you can take something that's deemed "useless" by many, and make it fit for yourself. At first I only use one spear, the original, but over time I decided to try my hand at dual wielding spears, and so I became proficient at creating replicas of it. I haven't actually taught any of my students how to use Projection, but seeing your Projections, I think I'll start teaching you how to. You seem proficient at it."

Wow, Lancer's amazing. She can create copies of her spears easily? Not only that, she can dual wield spears? She's crazy, but in a good way. No wonder Caster is scared of her, if I was facing a woman who is able to wield two long ranged melee weapons in close combat, I'd probably doubt I could win a fight with her at all.

"Wait. I still don't get what you mean about my Projections being different from regular Projections. Especially the time I tried to use it against Berserker."

I don't know what I did back there. I just remembered I was seeing and doing things that weren't my own and that the blade shattered in one hit.

"I was far away from you when Berserker attacked, but I could tell from a glance, you did more than replicated Berserker's sword. You were holding it the same way he did, and even took the same stance as him. That's something interesting I noticed."

Is that's why I saw someone else's memories in my mind at the time? I do know I felt like I wasn't in control of myself when I did that swing. Lancer's spears both disappear.

"But that's for another time. I still need to think some things over about your Projections. For now, I'd just like you to keep practicing Reinforcement for now. I'm not sure if I could teach you Rune magic, since you might not be compatible with it, but I can at least help you out in things you do excel in. I could also try teaching you Runes anyways, but we won't do that till another day. Maybe tomorrow?"

I nod my head. Tomorrow sounds good. She's been speaking for quite a while now. I glance at the clock again. Another fifteen minutes has passed. The time is around 11 PM. Lancer looks at the clock too.

"I apologize for my lengthy discussions, Emiya. I'll try and speak to you about matters such as this earlier."

"No, it's fine. I learned a few new things today, and that's all that matters. I'll go ahead and practice Reinforcement now."

With Lancer finished talking, I practice my Reinforcement on objects throughout the shed. Ever since I found out about my natural Magic Circuits, my Reinforcement success rate has gone up tremendously. I still fail to reinforce all objects correctly, but I can at least reinforce more things better now. Though my reinforcement skills are still subpar, certain objects such as knives are the easiest for me to reinforce. I wonder if I can reinforce my body now…

"Hey Lancer, are you good at reinforcing your own body?"

"Of course I am. For you, I think it'll be even easier."

I guess I'll try it out later. Or since we're still awake...

"You know, I'm going to try reinforce my body. You can heal me if I mess up, right? "

She nods her head. Okay. My circuits are still on, so all I need to do is reinforce my body. I choose my right fist. I use structural grasp on myself. What is that golden object inside of me? I ignore it for now. My right hand. I flow mana throughout my body, focusing on reinforcing my hand. Each and every bone and muscles in that area will be reinforced. I cut off the flow of mana. That should be it. Time to test it out.

I scan the shed. A plank. Clenching my right fist, I punch the plank. It shatters in half. I did it. I can reinforce my body as well! Lancer's eyes weren't paying attention to me though. Her eyes were gazing into the distance before returning to the present.

"Are you okay Lancer?"

"Yes. Don't worry about it. I'm fine. I know I told you to put your shirt back on, but mind if you take it off again? I'd like to do something."

I take off my shirt once again.

"Okay. Now lay down."

I proceed to lay on my back.

"I'll be painting something on your chest, if you don't mind."

Taking a small paintbrush, she dips it in black paint, and starts drawing on my chest. I adjust my head a bit. She's drawing characters I don't know of on my chest. While she's my Servant, this feels really uncomfortable. I don't know what she's planning, but as long as it helps me, I can deal with this.

"What are you exactly doing with all this paint on me…?"

"I'm drawing runes on your chest."

Runes… On my chest?! Is she crazy?

"Runes? Am I going to die?"

"Don't be silly. All I'm going to do is figure out your Element and Origin."

"What does that mean?"

"To put it into basic terms...Element is what makes up the world, and there's five elements to be exact: Wind, Earth, Water, Fire, and Void, which is also known as ether. Usually a magus would have one of these five elements, though some would have more. Depending on your Element, that's usually what you can. So if I had the element of "Fire", then I can control and utilize fire magic, but I can't use the other four. As for my classification? You could say that I'm an Average One. That's someone who uses all five of the elements. But I can use more than the five elements."

"So, the thing you did with Berserker was…"

"Yes. It was fire magic. While I do indeed have my own Magic Circuits, I prefer using Runes instead."

"What about Origin?"

"Origin defines someone's existence. It's the orientation of one's soul, the foundation of one's existence. It also affects one's way of living, depending on their Origin. Because they'll never stray away from their origin if they're awakened to it. Under the Magecraft system, Origin describes precise details while Element indicates a direct alignment. Even those who has no Elemental affinity, they'll be able to cast spells as long as they follow their Origin."

So even someone like me who only knows Reinforcement and projection can use magic as long as I know what my origin is. Lancer stops painting on me and pushed the paint and brush away.

"I'm done. Now, just stay still. The runes on your chest will glow, but don't fret. "

She placed her right hand on top of my chest. It's above my heart. Deciding to tease me, she runs her fingers through my chest.

"You're certainly fit for a teen…"

"Uh… Can you check my origin and element now, Lancer? "

"Sorry."

With her hand placed on my chest, I feel her magical energy pass through me. The paint glows bright in the shed. This doesn't hinders Lancer though. The light flashes before dimming again, like a person who flicks a switch on and off repeatedly. I can only hear my heartbeat and both of our breaths at this moment. The process continues a few more minutes, before I can't feel any more mana flow.

"Well, now I know a few more things from you. Emiya? "

"Yes?"

"Are you aware your origin and element are both Sword?"

"Wait...Sword?"

"Yes, Sword. This is...unique to say. Not only do you have an uncommon element and origin, they're both the same. You know the word for those who have the same element and origin, right? They're called Incarnation."

So I'm an Incarnation huh… If my element and origin is sword, is that why I can't use any other magecraft?

"This is a lot to take in, Lancer. Can I get the paint removed now? "

"Sure. I'll wipe you off with a wet cloth. "

Lancer momentarily leaves the shed before returning with a wet cloth. I'm still lying on my back. She wipes my chest to remove the paint. To think that my Servant is cleaning me is just strange.

"You better not be thinking of strange thoughts."

"I'm not!"

"Denial is the first step to acceptance, Emiya. I know you're a teen who is getting cleaned up by a beautiful Ulster woman such as I, but keep your mind clean too. I don't want my Master to be distracted all the time, you know."

Okay, now she's just messing around with me. She finishes up wiping all the paint from my chest. I stand up. This time, I decide not to put on my shirt. I'll be taking a shower anyways and while the paint is all gone, I don't want to get the scent all over my shirt.

"Anyways, Lancer? What are we going to do now that we know my origin and element? "

"I'd have to think it over. Usually my students had one of the five elements but since you're one of the first with an uncommon element and origin, I'm not sure what to do with you. I'll have to think of ways to train you which utilizes your unique trait when we find out more. Though this does explain why you can't use any of the five elements: because you're not built for them."

"I see. I'm not sure what are we really going to do since if sword is my element, I can't really do anything besides magic that involve swords, right? "

"Correct. Looks like you're catching on pretty quickly, five stars!"

"Five stars?"

"Nothing. Just a evaluation of some of your answers."

That's… kind of strange. But I'm not going to ask her about that unless I want to get stab by that spear of hers.

"Okay then. This means tomorrow we'll focus on what to do about my other abilities, right? "

"Yes. For today, just focus on your Reinforcement. Today we've made a lot of progress than where you currently were."

She smiles at me so I decide to smile back. Perhaps having Lancer as my servant isn't all that bad.

"I like you, Lancer. "

Her eyes widen. Her facial expression changes. She looks angry at me yet her cheeks are red. Did I said something wrong to embarrass her?

"Excuse me?"

"I said I like you, Lancer. At first I wasn't sure about this Master thing but you're a cool person. Helping out some magus like me is nice of you. I think I can get used to this."

I scratch my cheek. Lancer blinks a few times before closing her eyes. She gives out a long sigh.

"I wasn't expecting that from you. You truly are different from others, Emiya."

"It's not everyday you summon someone who call themselves a Servant, especially someone who call themselves Lancer."

I shrug my shoulders in response. This is weird and all but at least I'm getting used to this.

"If you're not aware, Lancer isn't my real name. We servants merely use the class names as placeholders for our true name. And no, I'm not telling you my real name. At least, not now. If you're kidnapped and interrogated, there's a high chance that a master will try and force you to reveal my name which would be bad for the both of us. I hope you understand."

She answered questions which I was planning to ask. I can understand why she'd hide her name, since because becoming a master, I have a target on my back now. Especially since last night another master tried to kill me. Though I still have another question regarding her name.

"Let's say you tell me your true name though. How would that benefit me? "

"The only benefit you'll get is that you'll know who I am and an understanding of my abilities. Aside from that, it's better if we kept this a secret. Though if you're really are curious I can give you two hints: my name strikes fear just by being said and I'm an Ulster born. "

If her name strikes just by being said… I don't think I need to worry.

"I understand. You can tell me your name when you think it's time."

I glance at the clock. Our discussion took another thirty minutes. It's going to be 12 AM soon.

"Wow, it's that time already? We've spent a lot of time talking… "

"Like I said before, my apologizes Emiya." Lancer is holding her left shoulder with her right hand while looking at the ground.

"It's fine. What matters is that I learned about using my magic circuits and what's my origin and element is. Not only that, I learned a few new things today things thanks to you."

I put my left hand on her right shoulder and I smile at her. She looks up at me. Our faces are only a few inches away from each other. She reaches out to my hair using her left hand and starts patting my head.

"W-what are you doing, Lancer?"

"Giving you a head pat, Emiya. You've improved today."

She then messes up my hair by running her hand through my hair. My hair sticks up a bit. I fix my hair.

"Hey! This isn't fun at all!"

"Oh? I'm enjoying this. Watching your reactions towards me is quite interesting. " She stops.

"Let's have you practice your Reinforcement for a bit. Then we'll head to bed. Don't forget to be ready for school. I'll be there. As for tomorrow? I'll let you know what we'll do after school when we get home."

I practice my magecraft for another thirty minutes. For that time, all Lancer did was watch me practice. The more I practice, the faster I get at reinforcing. If I have another day or so, I think I can even get my time to under a second. Eventually, I decide to rest and head towards my home with Lancer. I gather my clothes and head towards to the bathroom to shower.

"Today's been a long day…" I say to no one in particular while in the shower.

I process the events that happened. Lancer became a substitute teacher at my school, I learned that you do not make your own magic circuits, and I practiced Reinforcement which I have a much better grasp on. I haven't had any Servant encounters since last night. That's my issue right now. What am I going to do about about this war?

Can I really save everyone, even those who can't be saved?

I think back to Archer's words. He told me that I'll be in a situation where I can't save everyone. Does he mean that deaths in such conflicts are inevitable? Can I win this war without any deaths of Masters and use the Grail for good? Too many questions fills up my head with no answers.

"You're spending quite a large amount of time in the shower."

Lancer says to me. I didn't kept track of how long I'm in the bathroom. I usually take short showers, but this time I've took longer. I turn off the shower, dress myself, and leave the bathroom.

"Is something wrong, Emiya? Would you like to talk to me about it?

"No, it's fine. I just needed some time to think. You're going to shower?"

Lancer nods her head. Looks like she has some clothes ready too.

"Exactly how much were the clothes you bought?"

"How much? I don't recommend looking at this month's bill."

I give out a small sigh… Looks like I'm going to have to work overtime when this war is over. As Lancer enters the bathroom, I head towards my room, lay down on my back, and stare at the ceiling. I can't really focus right now, nor do I think I can as long as this war is still going on. The door slides open as I see Lancer, with clothes I haven't seen before. She closes the door and turns off the lights. Is she wearing that to sleep? She's wearing black shorts which went down to her thighs and a black camisole.

"Wow, Lancer. You must really like the clothes in this era. That fits you well."

She walks over. I glance over her, lifting half my body up with my hands facing outwards. She stretches her legs, before sitting in front me on her knees. Our eyes meet. My heart beats faster.

"Oh, Emiya~"

To describe what my Servant been doing with me, I'd have a dictionary filled with words. But there are two words that immediately pops up in my mind: she's foxy.

"Have you changed your mind yet?"

She says with an alluring voice. Our faces are only a few inches away from each other. She reaches in with her right hand, putting her index finger underneath my chin. She wraps her left arm around my shoulder. She moves closer, pulling me forward till I can feel her breath. Our noses are close to touching.

"Perhaps… "

Lancer takes a short pause before continuing her sentence.

"...I can sleep with you now?" She says to me with a smile.

I'm surprised I'm still keeping my sanity right now. I gulped. Sweat forms around my forehead. My heart beats the fastest it has ever been. I can smell the shampoo from her hair which fills my nose.

"Lancer…"

I breath in.

"This is making me uncomfortable."

She removes her finger from my chin. She crosses her arms. She pouts at me while looking away with her eyes closed.

"You're no fun."

My Servant really loves to mess around with me. Why is she acting like this around me anyways? Maybe if I accept one of her requests she'll mess with me less?

"Lancer. I'll allow you to sleep next to me, just for today. You did help me out."

Her expression change.

"You're not as boring as I thought you'd be."

She grabs a pillow and place it next to mine.

"Emiya?"

"Yes?"

We're both lying flat on our backs. Lancer is on my right side. I turn my head to face her and she does the same for me.

"I know that you've been bothered by me for the short amount of time I've been here but I'd like to thank you."

"Uh...You're welcome?" I'm not really sure how to reply since I don't know why she's just thanking me out of the blue.

"You won't understand right now… But I'll tell you when the time is right. Good night, Emiya."

Telling me some vague words, she faces the ceiling and starts to sleep. I place the blanket on top of both Lancer and me. I stare at the ceiling before I fall asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N** : This chapter was rushed out without a good proofread, so expect some errors . I'll try to fix them ASAP. Let me know if there are any errors I haven't caught.

* * *

A place which I'm not familiar with.

This is just a dream. My dream. But where am I? I can't move my body. I can only watch the scene that's in front of me.

A man runs towards a castle. He looks just like Caster. There he sees a woman with red hair… She looks just like Lancer. She's holding a red spear. As the man comes closer, she hands him the spear.

"Perhaps… I wanted to be killed at your hands." She says in a serene voice, like a prayer. She gives the man a smile.

"I give up. Better die before that happens." She gives out a hearty laugh in the castle's gardens. The man seems sad though, judging by the look of his face.

"If only you were born a little earlier... Young, still young... Sorry. Somehow, it seems I got sidetracked a lot."

The man replies to her.

"Were you training me just for me to kill you? Why?"

"When you live as long as I do, you get bored of life you know? Seeing people that I'm close to die while I'm stuck living hurts. But eventually I got used to it. All the times I tried killing myself didn't work, so it's not your fault that you can't kill me. Some kind of gift immortality is."

She gives out another laugh as the man looks down, feeling helpless. The man laments the fact that he can't fulfill the single request of his teacher: to end her life.

* * *

I wake up.

"Agh… "

I glance at the clock. There's still around an hour or so till I usually prepare for school. Scanning the room, I see Lancer is still sleeping. Her arm is wrapped around my chest. This is awkward…She must've moved around a bit in her sleep. What did I see in my dream? There was a blue and red haired person. What interests me the most is that red spear… It looks just like Lancer's, yet different. Perhaps… I should try projecting it?

I slowly get Lancer's arms off of me, tiptoe across the room, and slowly head my way towards the shed. I walk towards the end of the wall and lay my back against it. As long as I follow what I did last night with Lancer with my circuits, I should be good when projecting the spear.

"Trace, on."

I turn my circuits on. I do my best to remember the dream. In order to project it, I need to make the spear anew using my own mana. This is what I have to do.

"Ha…"

I breath in. This is harder than I thought it'd be. I could project things I've seen...but from a dream? I can't do this. But I won't give up just yet. I do my best to remember the scene. The woman who gave the man the spear. I look at it. It's crimson colored. This must've taken many lives. Something which is like veins or thorns run through it. To use such a spear, one must be fit enough to wield it. I don't think I can use this.

I grasp the imaginary handle of the weapon that has yet to exist with both hands. The weight is great. I cannot handle this weapon. Perhaps I could though? I bring out the weapon from my dream into reality.

It appears in my hand. My projection was successful, but only barely. In this state, it'll probably shatter if I tried to hit anything with it like when I fought Berserker. For this spear, its weight is definitely difficult to hold. I attempt to stand up while holding the spear, but I can't lift it up. This spear is really too heavy for me. Or perhaps I'm doing something wrong. I use the spear to hold myself up and slowly lift it up the ground. I manage to carry the spear. I take up a stance I don't know of. This is much better. I can stand and use this spear now.

This spear is named...

I hear footsteps. I need to destroy this spear before anyone sees me. I instinctively take the spear, and break it over my right knee. It shatters in half, before disappearing. I see Lancer.

"Emiya? What are you doing here early this morning?"

What do I say to Lancer? That I was playing with a long red spear that I projected? That sounds wrong out of context. Plus, I don't think she'll react kindly to my projection attempt.

"I was just practicing my magic."

Lancer closes her eyes and smile at me. "I see… Are you sure this isn't an excuse for something else, Emiya? I know you're a healthy young boy. No need to hide it. If you need privacy, just ask."

"No, I didn't mean that! I really practiced magic earlier. I woke up early, so I decided to practice magic and exercise. It's nothing to be worry about."

"You're acting awfully defensive."

Lancer continues to keep her eyes closed. She really likes messing with me. I don't think I can continue to argue with her. Nor do I think I can win any arguments.

"Can you please leave me alone for now, Lancer? I can't concentrate. Thanks."

Lancer snickers.

"Okay. I'll leave you alone for now. Next time, wake me up and let me know if you're doing something. We don't want any surprise attacks to happen to you again, do we?"

Lancer leaves the shed. I take a deep breath. I wait till I can't hear her footsteps anymore. Since I'm still up, I might as well practice, both my magical and physical skills before I go to school. That was close though. Lancer almost caught me with that red spear. Now, if I can project that spear, perhaps I could project Archer's swords?

* * *

I glance at the clock. I still have time to prepare for school. I turn on the T.V.

"Breaking news: There has been reports that the count of missing persons are increasing."

For the past few months, the news been saying that there's been disappearance of people. I really want to do something about it, but I don't know what to do. With no clues at all, the police are stuck and can't stop whoever is doing this. I wonder if there's a murderer or something here in Fuyuki who's hiding the bodies? I can't get upset over this. At least our school is doing something about the murders. Recently, they're starting to let students go home earlier. After the incident of a student who was walking home and disappeared, we've really ramped our security at our school. Somehow Lancer bypassed all of that and became a teacher at my school.

I heard the bathroom shower turned on. Is she taking a shower? I still need to make breakfast for us, but I can start that later. My curiosity gets to me. I slowly walk my way to the bathroom room and put my ear to it. She's humming a pleasant tune while the shower is on. As much as I'd like to listen to her humming, I should go cook soon. As I take a step away from the door-

"I know you're there, Emiya."

I stop in my tracks. I look at the door, and there seems to be something carved on there. Did she place a rune? Seems like it.

"Are you trying to enter the bathroom while I take a shower? I knew it. Sorry, but I won't allow it. That's why I set a rune on the door. It allows me to view whoever is around the door. Anyways, you should be cooking for us you know. Unless you want me to give you more homework."

I do not want to get on her bad side. I take a step forward but I fall down. Ugh, this is embarrassing. I hear Lancer's giggle.

"Did the blood from your legs go to somewhere else, hmmm?"

Not. Funny. I stand up and dust myself. The door rings, and I went to open it. It's Sakura.

"Hey Sakura."

"Hello Senpai. Where's your guest? "

"She's taking a shower right now. I guess you heard, huh? "

"That she's a teacher at our school? Yes. It went around the whole school. And they said she talked to a orange-haired student? It's you, isn't it?"

I didn't expect all of that from Sakura. But she's not wrong.

"Yeah. While we're still talking, mind helping me make breakfast? I'm kinda out of focus for today…"

"Sure."

And so Sakura and I prepared breakfast. Lancer was already out of the shower, with a towel wrapped around her head. She looks dressed for school already. Her outfit is similar to yesterday's, except this time she isn't wearing a coat. She wears a white long sleeved button up shirt with all the buttons closed. That shirt is tucked into her skirt, which length is between her knees and thighs. She's also wearing sheer leggings.

"Thanks for the breakfast." Lancer says to me.

"I guess you'll be teaching again today?"

I ask Lancer.

"Yeah, like I said before, I'll be at school again. Though, I would love to explore the school grounds a bit more. Perhaps I'll visit your other classes too?"

Please no. Don't do that Lancer. I'd rather keep the little sanity I have left, thank you.

"Shishou?"

Sakura gets Lancer's attention.

"What's with yesterday? I heard rumors about you talking to Shirou after class."

"Oh? I just wanted to let Shirou know that I'll be subbing for Taiga."

"And Taiga is okay with that?"

"Yup."

Sakura stops for a moment, taking this all in. She smiles.

"Okay, thanks for answering my questions."

Lancer nods at Sakura. The food is getting colder each second. We better start eating.

"Let's eat."

* * *

"Go ahead, Emiya. I'll be there before the bell rings."

Lancer said that to me so Sakura and I went ahead. The walk to school didn't take that long.

"Senpai? How do you deal with another person in your home?

"I'm pretty used to living by myself. So having another guest isn't all that bad. She can take care of herself just fine so more or less, I don't have to help her out with anything that much. "

"I see…" I wave to Sakura as we split up on the school grounds. I see Issei walk towards me.

"Yo."

"Hey Issei." I wave at him.

"Could you help out with something? We have a few broken appliances which needs fixing. As far as things go, I've been busy recently so I wasn't able to ask you earlier this week."

I nod. I'm used to fixing everything at my school and I don't ask for anything in return. Issei and I walked to the student body room, where I fix the broken appliances.

"Hey...Shirou?"

"Hm?"

I don't take my eyes off of what I'm fixing, but I'm all ears.

"So I saw the new substitute we have…"

Oh no. I have an idea of what Issei is going to ask me about.

"Shirou, what's your association with that woman?"

I drop my tool. I knew I was going to be asked that question from Issei, but I really don't know how to answer him.

"You could say I knew her a while back..."

"You know women, Shirou?"

"Yeah."

"There's just something different about her. I don't think you can trust her."

What does he mean by that? Can he sense that Lancer is a Servant? I know Issei doesn't get along with Rin, let alone any female student, but still…

"I'm not sure I get what you're saying."

"Women are scary, Shirou. You can look at Rin. Under that personality of her, she's a wrathful person. And I feel the same way with the substitute teacher. I think you should get away from her."

By sheer coincidence, I just notice Lancer standing at the doorway. Was she listening to our conversation about her?

"Emiya Shirou. Please leave the room for a bit. I'd like to talk to your friend."

I quickly stand up and speed out of the room. Lancer closes the door. I don't think it's a good idea for me to eavesdrop on them. I'll just take a quick walk around this part of the hallways… As I head back to the room, I see Lancer outside. I enter the room, Issei's face looks drained.

"Forget what I said about that substitute, Shirou. Just forget it."

Did Lancer scare Issei? I wouldn't want to know what she said to him if he's this afraid. The bell is about to ring, so I better head to my first period class.

* * *

It's first period. We're working on an assignment in class, with Lancer at her desk to observe us. I tap my pencil on the desk, thinking about what I did this morning in the shed. That spear… The shape of it is similar to Lancer's spear. But what does this mean? As if Lancer notices that something is wrong in my mind, she goes in front of my desk.

"Are you okay, Emiya? You seem out of it."

Lancer walks over to my desk and bends over in front of me, as we're now eye to eye. I can feel the stares of my classmates around me, piercing me as if there are daggers plunging into me right now, waiting for my response. My female classmates look at me with judgment in their eyes, weighing if my life is worth keeping safe from the wrath of the opposite gender who look at me with hateful jealousy.

Her crimson eyes meet with my golden eyes. My heart beats faster and faster. I smell a feminine scent. She seems to be using perfume. When did she bought perfume, yesterday? Her hair is still a bit wet, and it's not only her perfume I can smell. Her hair has a nice smell to it too. My mind's going crazy with her near me right now. The person in front of me isn't the Lancer I know of, she's someone else.

"Are you sick? Your cheeks are turning red. Need to go to the office?"

She breaks my gaze.

"It's nothing, Shishou. I apologize for wasting your time."

Lancer looks unamused.

"If you say so. You haven't done work at all for the past thirty minutes."

I glance at my paper. Aside from my name, date, and period, I haven't written anything down. Time passes by fast indeed.

"I'm sorry… I'll get to work. I'm just tired."

"Alright, if you need anything then just ask."

I move my pencil and start writing on my paper. Lancer goes back to her desk, and I no longer feel any stares going in my direction. I take a few deep breaths. I shouldn't act embarrassed around her when I already know how Lancer is like. I think I should show that I appreciation her. I know what to say. I'll have to find a good time to get back at her, but it might go something like...

" _Oh, Lancer?"_

" _Hm?"_

" _Back when you asked if I was okay at school… I was thinking you scent is really nice."_

 _Lancer's cheeks redden. "Get back to work, Emiya."_

* * *

The rest of the day was a blur to me. As my mind wandered throughout the day, I couldn't really pay attention to my classes. Rin asked me between passing periods to meet her on the roof, so I head over there.

"There you are."

"What is it this time, Rin?" I get straight to the point.

"Well. I've been thinking yesterday... "

The only thing that comes to my mind is something related to the war.

"Since Archer is injured, I'll need to wait for him to fully heal before I can really do anything. So I was thinking, would you want to form an alliance with me?"

I knew it. I was considering asking her instead of the other way around, but I thought she wouldn't accept it.

"Yeah. An alliance sounds good. I'll be sure to tell Lancer about it later."

We both shake each other hands. Though...perhaps there's something I should ask about her.

"Will you be sleeping at my house, Rin?"

"Oh? Why do you ask, Shirou? Do you need to know if I might interrupt something between you and Lancer? I didn't know you're into older woman. I always thought you were into Issei. I mean, you both eat lunch together every single day in the student body room. And don't you make lunch for him too?"

Rin giggles at me. Wait a sec, me and Issei…?

"What? What about about me and Issei?"

"How should I put this... A lot of girls at our school seem to pair you up with him."

Oh. Is it possible that Issei is really…?

"Tohsaka. Whatever you heard from those students is a lie. Issei and I are just friends."

"Hmm? But Issei only gets flustered around you, Shirou. Whenever any other girl tries to talk to him, he just acts indifferent."

Okay, that is strange. Rin is getting me curious about Issei too. Perhaps I should ask him about what he thinks of me? Man, Rin's getting to me now!

"Oh? Are you thinking about Issei right now?"

"Yes I am-wait..."

I facepalm. Rin snickers at me. She's just like Lancer. But Lancer is worse than her. Much much worse. "Well, just wait for me after school. I'll walk with you to your home today."

* * *

I enter my Chemistry class. I don't see anyone else around besides my teacher so I must be early. That's strange, why is Lancer here?

"Hello Hyde. I believe you're also a substitute teacher here?"

"Yes I am. I believe you're called Shishou?"

Lancer nods. She then looks at my direction. Currently I'm sitting down at the corner of the room.

"Ah… I see you have my student, Emiya Shirou."

Why do I have a bad feeling about this?

"Yes. We were looking at the periodic table yesterday and he was fascinated by it. Especially all the metals on there. "

I can't believe what I'm hearing. I lowered my head and hide myself from Lancer. Footsteps approaches me. With no choice, I look upwards. It's Lancer.

"Hmm? Emiya, are you focusing more in Science than you are in Math? Don't tell me that you're failing Math because you have a metal fetish."

"But I don't!"

"That's not what I'm hearing from your teacher."

Lancer crosses her arms.

"To think that you'd be distracted…by metals of all things! Not even by Rin, Sakura, Issei, or Taiga!"

Hey now. Don't include Issei and _especially_ Taiga into this. The bell rings, and the hallways are noisy now.

"Hmph. See you later, Emiya."

Lancer walks off to her class. My teacher walks over to me.

"Well, Emiya."

He's right in front of me.

"Seems like one of your teachers has an interest in you. It must be hard to deal with her, huh? If there's one thing I learned… It's that you should never get between that which a woman wants and the woman who wants it."

Just on the edge of my right eye, I see that Lancer is still on the doorway.

"Hyde, you said something?"

Lancer says to my teacher. With that tone of hers, it sounds like she would kill my teacher. In an instant, my teacher shudders.

"No, nothing..."

"Good~"

My Chemistry teacher and I exchange a brief glance as Lancer then leaves, and then we both sigh. It seems no one can escape Lancer's hold...

* * *

Issei asked me to stay after school again. Last time that happened I got killed by some hooded guy called Caster and ended up summoning Lancer. But this time, Lancer is with me. I'm sure I won't be killed by any Servants again.

"Hey, Lancer?"

"Hm?"

"Just to let you know… I accepted an alliance with Rin. You know, Master of Archer?"

Lancer nods at me.

"I see… Will she be staying at your home?"

"I'm not sure yet. Though I think she'll be waiting for me."

As if on cue, Rin walks towards us, with her servant Archer materialized.

"Tohsaka?"

"There's a reason why I told you to wait for me after school. You're staying after school to fix the equipment again, aren't you?"

I place my tools to the side.

"Yeah. I can't say no. Who else is going to fix them?"

"I know you do your best to help people but you have to say no sometimes. Eventually, someone who you would help wouldn't be kind to you. They might betray you, and you won't be able to do anything."

Rin has a point. I know my ideal is impossible to achieve. But I know that even though it's possible, I can't give up. This is what Kiritsugu wanted me to be, a Hero of Justice.

"I know, Rin. But I can't stand just doing nothing. If I can help anyone, I will do so with no hesitation."

Rin sighs. Lancer and Archer were quiet. Did something happened between them? Archer breaks the silence.

"What kind of person accepts anyone's help, even if you don't know them? That's asking for something bad to happen to you."

"There's nothing wrong with that, Archer. Right, Lancer? " I say in response.

Lancer is in deep thought. If she's trying to think of what exact words to say, she puts her index finger on her chin.

"If you think it's the right thing to do, then it's not wrong, isn't it? Though people's perception of what's exactly is the right thing to do is different, as long you believe it's the correct choice to do, then you're not wrong."

"Even if you do what you think is right, if what you encounter at the end of your journey you find out what you believed in is wrong, then it's all for nothing. Emiya Shirou shouldn't be doing these things."

Archer crosses his arms. What's with his responses? It angers me. He's wrong. There's nothing wrong with what I think is right for me. This is what I want to do, and he's stomping all over it. I don't like it. I decide to respond to Archer.

"What do you know Archer?"

"A lot more than you think I do."

Rin is getting visibly angry. She sighs.

"Archer and I will wait outside for you, Shirou. Looks like you can't really focus with me or Archer around."

Archer turns into spirit form as Rin leaves the room. Only Lancer and I are in the room now. Lancer faces the floor and sighs.

* * *

I finally finished fixing all the appliances. I place all of them at the corner of the room. Hopefully I won't have to fix them again while this war is going on. Lancer asked me if I needed help, but I declined. I can do this myself. Lancer looks troubled.

"Is something wrong, Lancer?"

"Don't worry about it."

We both walk outside and see Rin. Archer isn't there.

"Hey, where's Archer?" I ask.

"He's in spirit form right now. I apologize on my servant's behalf. The way he spoke out to you was rude."

"Well, it's fine now. Let's go."

We all walk. Lancer and I are walking shoulder to shoulder, while Rin is slightly behind us.

"If you don't mind if I ask again. Why can't Lancer turn into spirit form, Shirou?"

Rin asks a question which was a repeat of that night. While Archer is able to disappear, Lancer cannot. Her question is also in my mind. But that's the least of my concerns right now. I need to figure out how I can go through this war with the least amount of civilian killed in the crossfire.

"I have no idea Rin. Didn't Lancer said that she's not getting enough mana to be able to turn into spirit form?"

"That's correct, Emiya." Lancer speaks out. "Due to the lack of magical energy I'm receiving, I can't turn into spirit form. After all, you did summon me under conditions which weren't ideal, no?"

Lancer has a point. Instead of being what a normal summoning would be without any inferences, I summoned her while I was being attacked by a Servant. So something must've been wrong during that time. As I wasn't intending on summoning her, if anything at all, there could be something wrong with our connection.

"Well, when you fixed my body, does that make our connection better, Lancer?'

"Yes. I can feel much more mana flowing between us now, compared to back then when you still did your old way of using your circuits."

Rin takes an interest to her statement.

"What happened with Shirou and his circuits?"

"Get this. He tried to create a new magic circuit each time he did magic by converting parts of his nerves for the past ten years."

Why did you have to tell her, Lancer? I take a long look at Rin's face as we walk out the school's gate… She looks disappointed.

"Shirou… The fact that you even managed to survive ten years doing something so stupid that you didn't even know about surprises me."

"My teacher never told me I was doing it wrong... " I say to her.

"I see… Well, at least it's not your fault. Just mostly."

Way to be nice to me, Rin.

"Anyways, do you need me to teach you, Shirou? If we're in an alliance, the least I can do is help you out."

To have Rin's help, huh? While her help is nice, I don't think it's needed. Lancer is already teaching me and I've advanced more than where I was previously at.

"I think I'm good, Rin. Lancer's already teaching me magic."

"Oh? Your Servant knows magic as well, Shirou? Perhaps I've underestimated her."

With Lancer being mentioned, she speaks out.

"Even though I'm a warrior, you could say that I dabbled in magic as well. I'm summoned as a Lancer, but I also fit the Caster class as well."

"That's interesting. I don't know much about heroic servants who could multiple class requirements, though those who do are talented. A Lancer who could also fit the Caster class as well. I definitely would be okay with having you as my Servant. But Shirou needs you more than I do, if he can't even get the basics of magecraft down."

I'm right here you know. And Archer's here too. I wonder how he feels about this?

"Okay Rin, you can stop making fun of me now."

"Sorry Shirou. It's just too fun."

She really is devious. I remember back to our previous conversation while on the rooftop. That's right, I still have to ask her. She might've changed her mind.

"Are you planning to stay over?"

"To answer your question… I'll be staying over starting tomorrow. I'd need to pack up my things after all. But for today, I can just visit your house and walk home with Archer."

I better prepare my home then...And this time, tell Sakura and Taiga in advance. Perhaps they won't act surprised like they did when they find out about Lancer. Though explaining that a school idol is staying over at my house is going to be difficult to explain.

"Okay, I'll prepare the rooms for you then."

Lancer was quiet throughout our conversation, only saying something when she's called out.

"Something wrong, Lancer?"

"No. I just don't think I should say anything right now. This alliance is new after all."

Ah, so she's still watching out if Rin will do anything to me. I don't think she will. Rin won't do anything like that.

"You don't need to worry about Rin, Lancer. I know she won't do anything bad."

She accepts my answer quietly. As I look ahead of us however, I stop. There's someone near us who I feel uneasy around. A man with gold hair and red eyes.

* * *

 **A/N** : I forgot to put up a stat sheet for Lancer, so here's her stats under Shirou Emiya. I'll add this to Chapter 1.

Master: Emiya Shirou  
True Name: ?  
Class: Lancer  
Gender: Female  
Alignment: Neutral Good

Strength: B  
Endurance: A  
Agility: A  
Mana: C  
Luck: -  
Noble Phantasm: A+

Class Skills:

 _Magical Resistance_ : A

Personal Skills:

 _Primordial Rune_ : -  
 _Wisdom of the Abyss_ : A+  
 _God Slayer_ : B

Noble Phantasms:

?


	7. Chapter 7

My heart beats faster the closer the man comes to us. I sense something different about this guy. I don't think he's a normal being. Did Lancer notice as well? Rin stopped as Lancer did, so she must've been watching us. Lancer starts tugging on my collar and grips my right hand with her left.

"Hm? Something wrong, Emiya?"

The golden man is still coming closer. "N-no."

"Oh… I thought you stopped because you noticed it too."

I turn my head to face Lancer. "Noticed what?"

She lowers her voice. "I thought you noticed, but I think your ex is following us."

Lancer points to Rin.

"What are you pointing at me for?!"

Rin looks at both Lancer and I. How should I explain this to her…

"Oh? Are you just jealous I have your boyfriend now instead of you? Stalking is really such a turnoff, you know?"

I really want to say something, but I feel like there's a reason why she's doing this to us, so I keep my mouth shut.

"Come on, Shirou. Say something! I'm not your ex!"

With my name being called out now, I look at both Rin and Lancer. I'm wedged between a rock and a hard place right now. On one hand, I have a feeling Rin is going to kill me if I play along with Lancer. On other hand, my Servant will probably enforce much harder training sessions. I'm sorry Rin.

"There's a reason why you're my ex now."

If there's one word to describe how Rin feels right now it's _furious_. Her face is flushed and I can feel an aura around here, one far different than the golden man. Don't kill me, Rin.

"Are you saying that even if I was still your girlfriend, you wouldn't accept me?"

The more the conversation continues, the more I dig myself into a hole. I look at Lancer, waiting for her answer.

"Well… If you feel that way, there's still room for one more. Emiya wouldn't mind, right?"

Lancer says. This just got more awkward. My cheeks turns red and so does Rin.

"What are you saying?!"

I say to her. Don't get me involved in this question. You're trying to make this worse on purpose, aren't you?

"Emiya is a nice man. In fact, he let me sleep with him last night."

"Shirou…"

I'm dead. I can say goodbye to the world right now. Bye Sakura. Bye Taiga. Bye my only safe haven, my kitchen… The golden man walks by us as Lancer keeps pressuring Rin. Even though she seems to be enjoying herself with a smile, I can see her eyes are closely watching him as the aura of danger around him passes by.

He's well out of sight when Lancer changes the topic.

"My apologies, Emiya… I had a bad feeling about that man. So I just messed with you on purpose so we could avoid him."

On purpose? Haven't you always messed with me on purpose all the time?

"I understand, but couldn't you do something else instead?"

"Sorry. That's the only thing that popped up in my mind. Also, I didn't think you'd approve my plan."

Of course I wouldn't, look at Rin right now!

"Shirou…" Rin walks closer to me. I suddenly take a few steps back. I have a feeling she'll kill me right now.

"Explain to me what do you mean by "you're my ex now"."

Lancer steps in front of me. I see someone that looks like my Chemistry teacher stopping a little bit behind Rin. No, it is my teacher, probably on his way home when all of this happened and his curiosity got him to watch. He clears his throat as all eyes focus on him.

"While I, ah, am not sure of my stance on these kind of relationships, please rest assured I saw nothing."

He walks off after saying those words. This could only get worse if Taiga was here…

"SHIROU!"

I spoke too soon.

"You're not usually this late when you walk home. What are you doing?"

"Taiga, what are you doing here?"

"Well. I got hungry so I went and waited for you, but you stayed after school again, huh ?"

So you came to search for me when you're hungry. Ah, typical Taiga. It seems she just notices Rin and Lancer. She glances at both of them. Taiga takes a moment to think of a response. I have a feeling she's going to take this badly.

"Shirou...when did you become a man whore?"

Out of all the things she could have thought of, she had to think of that. I facepalm, both mentally and physically. Considering earlier I had dug myself into a ditch, no matter what I'll say, I'll dig myself further. I'll need to carefully select my words.

"Emiya is just taking Tohsaka to his house."

Or not. Lancer says something else. Are you going to keep on interrupting me?

"I'm sure Emiya here is responsible enough to bring a girl over other than Sakura, right Taiga?"

"Hmm. Well, Shirou is allowing you to stay. As long as Shirou and Rin aren't doing anything weird, she's free to stay. But first…"

Taiga grabs me by the collar.

"Come on, Shirou. Let's go home and cook!"

Lancer steps in front of Taiga.

"Taiga. Please let go of my Master. He can walk home himself."

Wait...Master? Oh no. Is this part of her plan. Both Taiga and Rin blinks in surprise, not expecting Lancer to say that.

"...Shirou, I didn't know you were into to that."

And of course Taiga takes it the wrong way.

"No! It's not like that!"

I look at Rin, hopeful that she'll help me out here. Instead, she gives me a weird look and smiles malevolently.

"...You're disgusting."

Why is she playing along?! This must be revenge for the whole "ex" thing earlier!

"Rin! Come on!"

"Given that I now know what kind of person you are, I'd rather walk home alone. Farewell. We'll see each other tomorrow."

She's THAT mad about the "ex" thing? I see Rin walk off by herself. I guess I'll call her later when Taiga isn't around to discuss our alliance. I glance at Lancer, who hasn't said a word yet.

"My apologies, Emiya… it just slipped out."

She tries to hide her smile. Really, Lancer. The only one left are her, Taiga and I. Taiga looks at the both of us

"What do you mean by "Master", anyways?"

"I meant to say… that you shouldn't handle Emiya Shirou, the master of the house, that way. It's not good for a teacher to do that in public, you know. "

Taiga scratches her head. She's thinking about how to reply to her response. Perhaps Lancer drilled through her head that she shouldn't drag me by the collar?

"You're right… My bad, Shirou."

Taiga bows to me. I scratch my head in confusion. Lancer really is changing my life. The three of us all head towards my home.

* * *

The walk was filled with silence. After Lancer called me Master, I can see why no one wanted to speak. I step inside my household, along with the others. Now I need to figure out what to make for dinner…

"Emiya, do you need any help?"

Lancer asks me. It doesn't hurt to ask her for help.

"I'm not really sure what to cook since I'm cooking for all three of us."

"Hmmm. I think soup could work? Take a look at your cookbook. I'll prepare the ingredients for you."

Lancer takes out food from the fridge and lay them on the counter. I take out a cookbook and glance at it, turning page to page, before selecting a dish to cook.

"Let's make this. Though it does say it'll take a while to cook…"

"Don't worry. I got it."

Lancer traces some unknown character on the oven. Wait, is she going to use Runes to cook? In just a few minutes, she heats up a dish which should take an hour.

"You know… I never heard of speed-heating runes before. I didn't even know they have those."

"When you have a lived as long as I have, you tend to branch out and learn many things. I'll teach you a few basic runes later if you'd like."

"Gladly."

"SHIROU! IS THE FOOD DONE?!"

Taiga calls out to both of us.

"Ah! Wait Taiga!"

I reply back to her. Lancer grabs her bowl and one for Taiga. I grab my share and sit at the table.

"This smells quite nice, Shirou. I presume you got help from your guest?"

"Yeah. She's a pretty great cook."

I glance over at Lancer. Her eyes widen in surprise due to my comment. She looks down at her dish.

"I don't think I'm that good compared to Emiya…"

"No, don't be like that. I'm sure you're a good cook."

I try my best to cheer her up. She looks at me and gives me a small smile.

"Trying to cheer an older woman like me up, huh Emiya?"

I… I don't think I should even respond back to her. That comment is a landmine waiting to be stepped on.

"But thanks Emiya." Lancer replies back to me.

"Oh yeah! How's it like being a substitute teacher?"

Taiga asks Lancer a question.

"It's not bad, I suppose. Being a substitute teacher is a lot of work though…" Lancer sighs.

"Yeah. Being a teacher is a lot of work. I'm surprised you are able to deal with the males in class especially."

"You could say I had some experience dealing with them."

Yeah, she was teacher before after all … albeit one who teaches her students how to use magic and close combat weapons.

"Oh. I see. I shouldn't worry about you handling my class then, right? How's Shirou doing in class?"

"To put it short. He's doing what he's been doing the past few months, but he _really_ needs to work on math. But don't worry, Taiga. I know a few things to help him in math. Surely his grade will improve tremendously after I teach him, right Emiya?"

All eyes are on me now. They're both waiting for my response. I have a feeling that if I say no, I'd be killed on the spot. So I say the answer that'll help me out in this situation.

"Yes."

"You're lying." Lancer says in response. She sees right through me!

"I'm not! I promise that my grade will be raised, Shishou!" I bow my head to show courtesy.

"Alright. I believe you Emiya. We've spent enough time talking, let's eat."

So we all ate. The more Lancer and Taiga talked to each other, the more they seem to get closer. This scares me...Eventually we all finished eating.

"See you soon, Shirou!"

Taiga waves at me before leaving. I take all the bowls and put them in the sink. Lancer walks over.

"I'll wash the dishes for you. Go ahead and call Rin."

I nod. For today I'll let her cover dish washing duties. I pick up the phone and as if on cue, it rings. It's Rin.

"Yo."

"You're an idiot, you know that right?"

"What?"

"You...You didn't support me when Lancer was bugging me."

"I didn't even know it was a plan. I apologize, Rin. So what was the alliance that you spoke of earlier?"

"Well. I was going to stay at your house starting today, but I don't want to see your face right now. So I'll start living there tomorrow. You did tell Taiga, right?"

Did I? I forgot to mention Rin.

"No, sorry. I forgot."

"I see. It wasn't at your mind at the time?"

"Yeah."

"As long as you mention to her that I'll be staying soon, you should be fine. Anyways, I'll talk to you tomorrow. I have to do my homework. It's hard being a school idol."

Rin hangs up on the phone. I can prepare the rooms for her today so I don't have to do it tomorrow. Is Lancer done with the dishes?

"You're done?"

"Yes. Finished talking with Rin?"

"Yeah, she'll be here tomorrow. I think she's angry with me."

"Well, you can't please everyone. Anyways, now that Taiga's gone. Let me show you the Celtic ways of doing math problems…"

* * *

We both agree to meet up in the dojo after I was done with my homework. She's still wearing her school outfit. If I recall last night, she'll help me out with projection and runes. Though I don't recall her talking about training me in close-combat. That wouldn't really help me against a servant, but if I can at least survive a few seconds, it's better than dying instantly. I should ask her about that.

"Hey, Lancer? Are we here to help me with close-ranged fighting?"

"That's correct. I know you still need to work on magecraft but… Just because of that, don't expect me to go easy on you, Emiya. I know you're fit enough, so mind if I don't limit myself as much?"

Why do I have a feeling that I'm going to constantly end up on the floor? If she goes easy on me then I'm not going to be able to survive against a Servant. It can't be helped. The only right answer to this would be…

"Yes."

"Good. Normally, if you were an enemy, I'd crush your bones and kill you, but since you're my student… I'll just beat you to near death~"

I feel a tingle down my spine. I never seen this side of Lancer before. This is just like if I was an enemy to her. In an instant, a wooden spear appears in her hand. In the other, a wooden axe.

"Now, there are a variety of close combat weapons, as you know. We'll be having a one minute sparring session with different sets of weapons to see which ones you excel at, and which ones you'd need to improve on. I'm a spearwoman, so I excel in spears. But I've dabbled in other weapons that I could at least teach you to be proficient in them, and with my skill, I could teach you even faster."

She hands the axe to me.

"Oh, by the way. I recommend reinforcing your body. As you'll be taking my swings full force, it'll hurt. A lot."

Duly noted. The firing hammer in my head goes down as I turn on my circuits. Mana flows throughout my body. Also using structural analysis on my body, I fill my body with mana to reinforce it. I'm still new to using my actual circuits, so this takes a few seconds. That's enough. I flick my circuits off.

"Looks like you're improving quickly. I'll let you take the first shot."

Lancer is in a neutral stance. Her right leg is slightly bent. Her left leg is straight however. Her right hand is facing forward, while she holds the spear with her other arm outwards, with all the fingers except for her thumb gripping the spear.

I grip the axe with both of my hands. I take a step forward, and swing at her. She blocks the attack by moving her spear with both of us feeling the full force of the clash. Even though I reinforced my body, I can still feel the force. In an instant, she disappears from my sight. I'm forgetting she's a Servant. I can't match a Servant. Perhaps I could defend, but only for a bit. I glance around, but all I see is a blur. The next moment, I feel something impact against my stomach.

"Guh-"

I collapse forward, releasing the grip of my weapon.

"Come on Emiya. That was barely five seconds."

Hey, I can't even see you! Lancer's too fast. If she's this fast, do I even have a chance to defend against Servants? I slowly stand up, grabbing my weapon. Even in the face of death, I need to keep my mind cool. I can't make any desperate actions. I hold the axe in front of me as if it was a longsword.

"Let's try again."

I get no response from her. She disappears from my sight again. If I can't see where she'll hit, I'll have to guess. I predict the area she'll strike, and I swing! All I struck is the air. The sound of wood clashing against flesh is heard, as Lancer swings her spear at my back.

"Agh!"

I fall forward with my weapon. This isn't sparring at all. This is more of a curbstomp.

"Predicting where I'd strike, huh? That's interesting. But you guessed wrong. At least that was more than five seconds this time. Good job."

Ugh. This is going to be a long night…

* * *

There's still two more weapons I have use to try: a spear and dual wielding short swords.

"Your attacks seem to be slowing down. Would you like to rest?"

Lancer barely looks tired at all. I've been struck by her many times and I've barely struck her in return. The only times I was able to survive the longest without being hit was when I was using a sword. Compared to something to say, an axe, which I have a bit of trouble with.

"Yeah… I need to take a break. I'm kind of thirsty too."

"Don't worry Emiya, I'll get water for you."

Lancer temporarily leaves the dojo. I lean my back against the wall. Taking deep breaths, I put my mind together and think about our sparring sessions. This whole time I've been struggling to get hits in. My mind isn't clear. No, it's not just that. My body isn't calm either. I need to keep a clear mind and calm body if I want to strike her. I glance at the door and Lancer comes back with two water bottles. She hands me one, and sits right next to me.

"You're not tired, Lancer?"

"Barely. I can go on all night with no problems."

Right. She's a Servant, so she doesn't have the limits of a human body like I have. Opening the bottle, I take a large drink. My shirt is drenched in my own sweat. Lancer notices, as she opens her mouth.

"Would you like to take off your shirt?"

"Uh. No thanks. I'll take a shower after this."

"Alright."

She takes a drink from her bottle. I need at least a few more minutes of rest. This really have been taxing on my body, even if I'm physically fit for a teen.

"Say, Emiya?"

My eyes glance over to her.

"It doesn't seem like it, or I'm not sure if you're aware. But you've seem to be improving quickly. Every session after the next one, you're making less unnecessary movements. Keep up the good work."

She gives me a small smile.

"I will Lancer."

Leaving both our bottles near the end of the wall, we stand up.

"Would you like to try out the spear, or the twin swords?"

"I'll try the spear before I do the swords."

She tosses me the spear. This feels familiar… I take up a stance unlike the other weapons I used. I take a step forward, with my knees bent. My right foot is in front of me. My shoulders are relaxed. I hold the spear with both my hands, keeping a feet away from each other. The way I hold the spear is by gripping tightly with both hands, but my hands are just a mirror image of each other.

"That stance… I recognize that anywhere."

Lancer blinks her eyes. Why is she surprised? I glance down. I've never held a spear in my life except for that projection from yesterday. An image appears in my mind, a man who wears blue, with blue hair and a ponytail. I ignore that image. I need to focus on doing my best to spar with Lancer, this time without distractions.

"Go ahead Lancer."

She steps forward and thrust her spear at me. Emiya Shirou cannot block this attack. My body moves by itself, moving the spear to parry the attack. Her face has been stoic for a while, but a small glimpse of shock appears in her face. Who is more surprised? Her because I was able to parry her attack? Or me, whose thoughts cannot keep up with my body? She crouches and sweeps at my legs, attempting to trip me. My body leaps up to avoid the sweep, and I bring my spear down upon her. She quickly recovers to block it. We're both in a stalemate now. Her face is near mines as our spears are currently attempting to push each other away.

"This is new. You're not knocked down quickly this time."

"Ah...Yeah. I'm surprised too."

I can feel Lancer's whole strength bringing my spear back. If this keeps up, I'll be disarmed. I leap backwards, disengaging myself from the clash. I take a few deep breaths.

"Tired already? Enemies won't give you breaks, you know."

She covers the distance between us in under a second and sweep kicks me. I didn't see that coming. I fall on my back, holding the spear. To follow up on me, she lunges. I hold out my spear with both hands, blocking her from striking. She's on top of me. Our faces are close to each other, that are noses are almost touching again just like last night.

"Even though I knocked you down, you still can keep up with me? I'm impressed Emiya."

She puts more force on her spear, making it difficult for me to push her back. I do my best to keep her spear from striking me.

"How long has it been?"

"I'd say...around twenty seconds?"

"That's the longest I've never been struck by your spear so far."

My body, still reinforced, does its best to push Lancer away. Lancer this time uses her full body weight onto the spear. I can't hold this up much longer. If I had to guess, I can only keep this up for another ten seconds before her strength overwhelms mine and I'll get hit by her spear.

However…

My vision changes. Lancer is now wearing something different from before. This looks like something that was common to wear a long time ago… What the heck? My spear changes to a dark red color. This is the same spear from before when I tried to project it. I'm in the same position as before, attempting to push Lancer off of me.

"You're doing great, Cu Chulainn."

Cu Chulainn…?

The vision in front of me wavers as the spear collides towards my face. It's like glass shattering in front of me. I lost the clash. I was going to lose anyway. I can't match a Servant.

"Agh!"

I drop my weapon and rolled to the side. That hurts. Lancer stands up and looks at me.

"Exactly thirty seconds. Good job, you didn't get hit by my spear for that long. I won't count the leg sweep."

I'm sure I could've survived longer if I didn't have that vision… Who is Cu Chulainn? That doesn't sound like an average name…

"We can rest for a few minutes if you'd like."

"It'll help."

I feel my face… No broken bones. Just bruises. Lancer will take care of that with her runes. I'm not missing any teeth either. That's good. Looks like Reinforcement did help.

"Lancer… I need help. I can barely move my body. I think I used up all my energy sparring with you."

She lifts me up and carries me to the wall. I manage to lay my back against the wall and drink some water.

"You know…"

"Hm?"

"The stance you took. The attacks you did. Those were like one of my previous students. No, it was indeed exactly how my student would try and attack. And here I thought you never had any skill in close-combat weapons."

Lancer gives out a small chuckle. So I was like one of her students...

"It didn't feel like I was moving at all. It's like my body was acting on its own. I thought to myself that I can't block your attacks yet somehow I did for a while."

"It surprised me too. You can't see my attacks because I'm too fast, right? But somehow you were able to fend me off for a bit. Anyways, we're almost done."

She stands up and hands me two short swords. I stand up as well. We both walk to the center. I take up another stance I don't know of. I hold both swords to the side of me. I see a glimpse of red. This is getting weird...

"Are you okay?" She asks me.

"Yeah… I'm fine. Let's begin. Shall I take the first move, or would you?"

"If you want to, sure."

She takes up her usual stance. I take the first move. I step forward and put everything I got into this one attack. I kick the ground and swing at Lancer with the sword in my right hand. She deflects the strike however. I ignore it. I thrust the sword in my other hand in response. She repels my other strike. Now she goes on the offense. She starts thrusting at speeds that I can't see. If this was our first session, then I'd be hit instantly. But I know how she attacks, enough to get out of this range. I've gone through a lot of sparring sessions with her today, I'm picking up on how she'll attack. So I have to predict where she'd strike like the first time.

I leave a fatal opening. She attacks, seizing the chance. Knowing that she'll strike there, I parry the blow and take quick steps backwards to get out of her range.

"Looks like you're picking up how I fight."

Even though I was able to predict where she'd attack, this only gives me a small window to relax. She can cover the distance between us in under a few second. I need to plan out what to do in the next few seconds. If leaving openings in my attacks can lead me to escape her range, perhaps I can use that to my advantage? It's a suicidal way to fight, but it doesn't hurts to try. I hold the swords in front of me, crossing them.

"I wouldn't be a good student if I'm not able to keep up with the teacher, right?"

"That's the spirit!"

She covers the distance between us. I step forward and take another swing. She blocks the attack. We're right at the beginning again with her attacking with vicious precision, as I barely manage to parry all the attacks. Leaving openings which she takes advantage of, and I parry. My mind reads steps ahead, to make sure I won't get hit by her spear for another second.

"I see what you're doing. This is suicidal you know? Leaving openings for me to strike, ensuring that you'll survive for another second."

She already figured out my plan. I shouldn't be surprised, she's a teacher after all.

"Ha… Well, it's working right?"

I avoid another blow that could've struck me. It's been at least thirty seconds.

"I thought you'd be more skilled with a spear. But it looks like that style you're using is right for you even though it's reckless."

Even though it's reckless, it's working. So I know I could last a minute using this technique. I can't see her attacks, but I can predict where she'll attack, strike there, and repeat. The only actions I was able to do was when she let me attack. I can't get any counterattacks in, because if I try to attack her once, I'll be disarmed in an instant. Putting more force into it, she swings at my right hand. I move quickly to avoid the strike, though the force was strong enough that the weapon in my hand flew away. My right hand is now weaponless. The sword in my other hand being the only one remaining.

"Haa…!"

It's been forty seconds. I need to survive for another twenty seconds. Lancer takes a step forward, points her spear at my face and thrust at me. I can see it. Therefore, I can parry it. I move my left arm in the air at the same time she strikes me. Making sure that I can push the spear away, I use my other hand as support. With all my strength, I push her spear upwards.

"What?!"

Lancer is shocked. That's not it though. With her great dexterity, she pushes her lance downwards, moving my hand from head to waist level. It'll take a second for her to recover.

"Ha!"

I step forward, and slash horizontally. All I swing at is the air. Lancer moved from her spot. Her agility is top notch and I didn't take that into account when attacking. Even though she needs to recover from her attacks, that speed of hers cancels that out entirely.

"Ah-"

A force from behind. My spine is struck. Even though I reinforced my whole body to minimize injuries, that doesn't stop me from feeling the full force. I'm launched forward. My body hits the wall of the dojo and I land backwards, facing the ceiling.

"I failed…"

Footsteps approach. I see Lancer looking down on me.

"Forty-five seconds. So close, Emiya. So close."

She leaves her hand out for me. I reach out to grab it and lift myself up.

"My back hurts…"

"That's something you just have to deal with when I'm your teacher. I really was trying my best not to kill you."

"How did I do?"

"Not bad. In the end, your recklessness costed you though. Be less cocky."

"I'm not cocky at all. I just did my best to take advantage of an opportunity."

"From the looks of it. You got ahead of yourself and thought that you would be able to strike me. You should know that even if you exploit an opening, that you will need to be cautious and think about all the possibilities of your actions. Sure, you might hit them, but you might also be baited into attacking and you'll be hit by a surprise attack."

"This means that you knew I was going to attack, right?"

"Whenever I fight, my mind goes through multiple scenarios in my head and I take the best option. If that doesn't work, I'll take the second best option and so forth."

That sounds awfully familiar to what I was doing… Thinking ahead of multiple steps to ensure survival. What did I do back then? When I dual wield, it's like I knew what I was doing. I never did that in my life. I know I spar with Taiga a couple of times with the kendo sticks I have, but my mind wasn't working like that.

"Forty-five seconds is now your highest. Congrats Emiya. Should we celebrate after practice?"

"I don't mind...Anything else you could tell me about our sessions?"

"I believe I told you everything so far. As long as we keep this up, you should be able to make some large strides in terms of melee combat. Shall we practice your Projection now?"

"Let me just rest for a bit…"

* * *

My body is now in better shape post-training. Thanks to Lancer's rune magic healing me, my body isn't bruised up like before. Now that I'm in better condition, I can begin magic training. Our backs are both towards the wall as we're both sitting down.

"So what are we going to do, Lancer?"

"Give me a minute to think...Due to your origin and element, I'd need to change my usual routine. It wouldn't work with you."

We're both still in the dojo. We'd be in the shed, but Lancer believes that there's not enough space to practice my projection magic.

"Okay, I think I know what you can be taught. If you can recreate Berserker's weapon...Perhaps your power is weapon creation. Or perhaps instead of creation, it's replication?"

Her right index finger is underneath her chin, while placing her right elbow on her left hand. She's looking right at the ceiling. Lancer seems to be deep in thought right now…

"If it's truly weapon replication...Maybe we can try out an experiment?"

Her spear appears in her hand. I remember looking at it nights ago. But I haven't seen it this close before…

"Let's see you try to project this weapon. If you could create Berserker's axe-sword, then projecting my spear wouldn't be an issue, no?"

I wish I could tell her that I did infact project a spear earlier today. But I think telling her that I projected a weapon from a dream isn't the wisest idea right now.

"Wait, how am I supposed to project your weapon? It's not a sword…"

"I know it's not a sword. But perhaps your origin "Sword" means something more than sword? What I'm trying to say is, we won't know till you try. If it's just Sword, it could mean anything. After all, isn't that what scientists do? Experiment? Try new things till they succeed? The same applies to magecraft."

She has a point. Even though I do know that I can project other than swords, she doesn't know that. Still, I had difficulties projecting a spear, it's still doable. But the circumstances are different. I attempted projecting something in my dreams. This is in real life. And if that's the difference…

"Mind if I get to hold your weapon, Lancer?"

She hands me her spear. I start to feel the weapon. The spear I projected earlier has a similar feel to it. This weight is hefty. It's weight has a familiar feel to this just like that weapon from before?

"It says something about your character when you have a large interest in a pointy stick."

She really does love to tease me. Anyways, I should really get to Projection. A firing hammer goes down in my head. Using my trigger, I turn on my circuits. All twenty-seven of my circuits are now awake. I can feel the mana flow through my body as it heats up a bit.

"Trace, on."

My left hand which was curled in a fist is now relaxed. I'll be projecting, so I'd need to direct all my attention to this single action. The image of Lancer's spear is in my mind. Eight steps I don't know is suddenly flowing through my brain.

Judging the concept of creation.

Hypothesizing the basic structure.

Duplicating the composition material.

Imitating the skill of its making.

Sympathizing with the experience of its growth.

Reproducing the accumulated years

Excelling every manufacturing process.

This was made specifically because the user needed a weapon.

This is a spear that is similar in shape to the one that I had projected earlier.

Made from the remains of a sea beast.

Forged to be used in battle.

This has over a thousand years of experience.

And in all those years this had been used to kill many things.

So I have to recreate it.

"Guh...kuh...Ah...Ahh..."

This isn't difficult. It's only a mere imitation. This a battle of myself. I breath in and out and the cycle repeats itself. I need to make it real. It needs to be good enough that even I can't tell the fake and the original apart. This is just a fake. I bind the illusion and replicate the spear!

I grip the spear that has now appeared in my left hand. It feels light. This is a much better projection than earlier today, but it still feels flawed. A spear and a sword are both similar, but they're not the same thing. I have to go through more effort to project something other than a sword, since projecting Archer's swords was much easier.

"Emiya…"

My heart beats fast. I used up a lot of my concentration to focus on that one task. My body is hot. There's a warm feeling to it. I shouldn't be surprised, using magic circuits heats up your body. I hand both the original and the copy to Lancer.

"This is merely a replica. But there's something about it which is similar to my own spear. The shape is the same, so is the weight and length. If I didn't know magic, I would mistake this as the real thing. There's a term to call those who are skilled in Projection: Faker. You might be able to do better in others in Reinforcement if you're successful casting the spell, but this projected copy is leagues above others I've seen, even my own usage of said spell."

My mind's still in scramble after projecting her spear.

"Hm?"

"You're not listening to me are you? Or are you focused on something else?"

"Ah. No that's not it I…"

I can't project spears as well as I can do for swords. I barely projected the spear I saw in my dreams earlier this morning. This is even harder.

"...I can't project spears as well as I can do swords. That projection is much difficult to do that what I did previously."

"Previously? You mean against Berserker?"

"No."

Wait. Did I ever told her I tried projecting Archer swords earlier?

"Is there something you're not telling me?"

I can't lie to her.

"Um. Well, remember how I said earlier I was practicing my magic?"

Lancer nods her head.

"Well. I projected Berserker's sword, so I figured I'd try projecting other weapons."

"And?"

"I projected Archer's swords."

"Ah…"

I think back earlier in the day.

 _Now, if I can project that spear, perhaps I could project Archer's swords?_

Projecting his swords took less of a toll on my body than the spear. When I tried them out, it just felt natural to me.

"If you say you projected Archer's swords…"

She stands up weapon in hand.

"Perhaps we could do one more spar using a projection of yours?"

I thought we were done sparring? Agh. I need to learn to keep my mouth shut. I still have some mana left in me that I can afford to project a few more times.

"Trace, on."

I turn on my circuits and the image of Archer's swords is in my mind. His weapon now appear in my hands.

"Come on! Show me what you got!"

I don't know why she's into fighting. I bet it's just her bloodlust as a warrior, and that's still a scary thing.

"Why do I have a feeling this will turn out worse than our previous session…"

"Will I take the first action, or you?"

"I'll go first, Lancer."

Throwing everything I have into this one attack, I step forward and take aim at Lancer.

* * *

"Master?"

Assassin knocks on a door at the Ryuudou Temple. The man who opens the door is a half European and Middle Easterner.

"You have returned, Assassin?"

"Yes. I have news for you regarding the other Masters… I believe we have another Master who goes to the school."

"And how would you know?"

"Someone referred to someone as a Master. I had only a small glimpse of her, but I believe she's another Servant who's masquerading as a teacher at the school."

"I see… Even though you're not Caster, perhaps summoning an Assassin isn't that bad either."

"Do you have any plans as to what to do about the Servant?"

"I do. Here's what I think we should do…"

* * *

 **A/N** : Sorry for the late update, I had a lot of testing these past few weeks. I like to apologize if there's any errors, let me know if there are any. I checked this chapter thoroughly but I still make mistakes and would like to improve as a writer. Any review, both praise and criticisms are welcome. Summer break is almost here, so I should be able to have regular updates again soon, but that's no guarantee.

Lots of things happened in this chapter, and I have a few things planned out in mind for future ones, so watch out for that!


	8. Chapter 8

I sit at the end of the dojo along with Lancer. While I'm out of breath, Lancer isn't. I'd say today was a productive day. I was able to test out my skills in Projection and it seems like from what she said, I can replicate user's weapon experience too. If that's the case, who did I see back then?

For some reason, he reminded me of someone I met recently. But I can't remember right now.

"Good work today. Perhaps I should treat you out to dinner sometime?"

She gives out a small chuckle. Heh, perhaps getting food with her isn't so bad...Wait.

"I don't think we should do that."

"Why not?"

"You're a teacher at my school right now, correct? What if other students sees us? It's going to be really weird."

"Oh? ~"

I think I made a big mistake.

"I didn't know you were that self conscious about others. Hmm, perhaps because you like someone?"

"T-that's not it! I'm just saying, people are going to have the wrong idea if they see us together!"

"Calm down."

Lancer takes a seat in front of me on her knees and put her hands on my shoulders. I start to feel her massage my shoulders...?

"Lancer, what are you-"

"Shh."

She stops for a second. She puts her right index finger in front of my lips. My face turns red.

"Your muscles are tensed. I'm simply helping your body be more relaxed. Don't say anything."

Following her directions, the room turns silent for a few minutes. Eventually she stops.

"Feeling better? Try and move your body now."

I move my body around. Whatever Lancer did, it seemed to help out. My body feels much better.

"Thanks Lancer."

"No problem. Anyways back to my question: Are we going to get food together?"

She's back at it again. I don't think she's going to take any answer except yes. I think of a response. Instead of going out to each, perhaps we could just eat at home?

"How about her-"

"No."

Is she psychic or something?

"I specifically want us to go somewhere together to eat. I haven't explored this city as much as I want to, so think of it..as a date? Fufufu."

A date? I never asked for this. But seeing as I have no other option...

"Well… First off, it's not a date. And second, fine. We'll go sometime this week."

"Good. This is your chance to show me how men in this era court woman. Impress me."

A bit too direct, isn't it? I just hope that whatever happens none of my classmates see us. Or else I'll never hear the end of this.

"Anyways, it's getting late. We better sleep soon."

As we both stand up and I start to head out, Lancer stops me by putting her right hand on my right shoulder. I stop to turn my head.

"Huh? Is something wrong?"

"I forgot to mention… I won't be in class tomorrow due to a meeting. So don't try and do anything stupid while I'm not there."

"I won't. But do you know what to say during the meeting?"

"Nope. I'll think of something if I'm there."

I don't think Lancer knows what goes on in a school board meeting...Hopefully she knows what to say.

"I guess this would be a good time to sleep. Let's go, Lancer."

As we prepare to go to bed, I just can't help but think about today. Perhaps Lancer being here isn't bad after all? I don't see Lancer in the room yet, but I am getting tired. So I'll just close my eyes and relax…

* * *

A burning sensation.

I don't know what this. It's all over my body. I can't move. This feeling of being burned alive is all I feel.

It's hot. It's really hot. It's too hot...!

* * *

"Ha…ah…"

My eyes shoot open. I get up, waking from that nightmare. I breathe heavily. My body is hot.

"Just what did I dream about…"

Looking around, I see that the door of my room is open. Lancer isn't here. Where would she be? This is strange. As I stand up to stretch, I leave my room and there I see Lancer: She's sitting down at the area Kiritsugu and I used to always sit at. In her hands is a cup. Taking a glance at the kitchen, I realize she must've made tea. Her head turns to face me.

"What are you doing this early in the morning?"

"I can say the same for you." I reply back to her.

"I couldn't go back to sleep after having this dream… So I'm here looking at the sky to calm myself. You're free to join me if you'd like, I made some tea in the kitchen."

Accepting her request, I pour myself some tea before sitting next to Lancer. I can feel the cold air touching my whole body.

"The sky is wonderful tonight, isn't it Emiya Shirou?"

"Huh? You said my full name outside of school for once."

"Yeah… Would you want me to call you Shirou instead, or would you rather I keep calling you by your last name?"

"I don't mind at all; feel free to call me Emiya or Shirou."

I take a sip from my cup. This tea isn't bad actually.

"Is there something you'd like to discuss about your dream?" Lancer asks me.

"I don't really know the specifics… I just know I felt fire. That my whole body was being burned alive."

"I see…"

She takes a sip of her tea. I watch her drink.

"Emiya? You're making me uncomfortable."

"Ah-"

I turn my head the opposite direction, scratching my head in embarrassment.

"Heh, you sure you're not looking somewhere else?"

"N-no!"

"With that out of the way… That does sound like a strange dream indeed. Has this been going on for a while?"

"I've been having dreams for a while, but this is the first I ever dreamed about something such as that. I don't know why."

"Maybe it's a sign of some sort? But it must be something big if it woke you up. I'd better tell you my dream now, huh? It's only fair since you discussed yours."

"If you'd like."

"Where should I begin…" She places her drink besides her.

"Ah, well I can't really remember what was in my dream. In a way, the things I saw were fuzzy. There was this man who seemed to be in his thirties. I can't say how he looked like since I didn't see him -I was viewing things from his point of view- but I know that he was out in the world saving people from harm, a hero."

"A hero…"

"It's strange. So I've been sitting out here, thinking about that dream, like what his motivations were for saving people. As a teacher myself, you could say I'm used to seeing people like him saving others from harm. I have no issues with why they'd do a selfless thing. But still… There must be a reason why he'd be doing it. I apologize if I'm rambling."

"No, it's okay."

I finish my drink before placing my cup next to Lancer's.

"It's my guess, but people just do things for no reason. Sometimes you don't need a reason to do something, you just do it. As foolish as it sounds… I can say from firsthand experiences that it's true."

I think back at all the times I jumped into situations just to help people out…

"Hey. What's with that smile of of yours?"

Lancer calls me out.

"Sorry Lancer… I just spaced out a bit."

"It's alright. You must be tired though. You sure you don't want to go to bed now?"

"I think I'll watch the stars with you for a bit before I go."

Lancer blinks a few times at my answer.

"Huh...Okay then. You're done with your drink?"

"Yeah."

"Alright, let me put the cups away then."

Taking the two mugs, she quickly washes them before putting them away. She returns to her spot.

"Say… Lancer?"

"Hm?"

"How do you enjoy this place?"

"I'm still getting used to this place but yes, I am. Then again, where I was previously... I didn't have much freedom to roam."

"Why is that?"

"...I'll tell you another time."

I can tell that it's a personal subject for her. I close my eyes and yawn. How long have we been talking to each other?

"I think you should head to bed. You're getting tired."

"But what about yo-"

"Head to bed. Now."

I don't want to upset her, so I stand up and started walking over to my room. Before I go however...

"Lancer. Thanks for our small chat."

"Same goes for you...Emiya Shirou."

I continue to my room. I take one last look at her. She looks up at the sky.

"Just who was that man in my dreams…"

Lancer says to no one in particular. As I lay in my futon, I fall asleep.

* * *

A new day. In a way, I'm curious on how today will turn out. Lancer has a meeting today, she won't be in class. I'm not sure how long she'll have it, but I do know that I need to behave even when she's not there. If her security runes are any indication, I don't know what she'll have plan for me.

"That's...weird."

I don't see Lancer around here. She must've left early. I don't see Sakura here either. Perhaps she was in a rush too? I shouldn't be too worried about this, I'm sure I'll see her at school today. The only thing I hear around me during my walk to school were my own footsteps and the voices around me. Issei walks over to me as I enter the school gate.

"Hey Shirou."

I look up into his eyes.

"Hey Issei."

"You have some time during lunch? There are a few pieces of equipment that still needs to be fixed."

"Yeah. I don't mind."

As I continue walking with Issei, I start to think back about that dream. What was that really about? I talked to Lancer about it already, but maybe I need another person's opinion on it.

"Issei?"

"Yes?"

"What would you think if you dreamed about being burned alive?"

"...What?"

"I don't know what I was dreaming last night, but I felt like I was being burned by endless flames…"

"Ah…"

Issei looks confused by my statement. He scratches the back of his head.

"I'm not exactly sure what you're talking about, but that does sounds like a weird dream to me. Being burned alive? That does sound crazy."

It does. Though I'm not one to talk when I survived that fire years back. But the feeling in that dream feels worse than that fire.

"Alright, my class is this way. See you at lunch then.

"See you, Issei."

* * *

A few hours into the meeting and Lancer is and continues to be bored.

 _"These school meetings… I don't even know what they're talking about."_

Instead of paying attention to the current conversations in the boardroom, she sketches some runes in her notebook. The topic of the meeting is something that Lancer doesn't know about at all or care about for that matter.

"Do you have any thoughts?"

A question is directed at Lancer.

"Um…"

 _"Eugh. What am I going to say?"_

"I believe the school extra budget can be allocated to other subjects besides sports."

 _"Phew."_

"But we're not talking about our school budget right now. We're talking about how to make students more prepared for college."

 _"You're kidding me."_

"Well. The budget could be allocated to resources such as special programs that help students get a head start on what careers they are interested in. That should help when choosing colleges.

"I see. We'll take your suggestion into account."

 _"Perhaps I should've paid attention instead…"_

Lancer felt a nudge to her shoulder. The teacher next to her whispers in her ear.

"What's that in your notebook?"

"These are just...some drawings I'm doing. I like to draw as a hobby of mine."

 _"This meeting needs to end. I feel that I'm slowly turning insane from all this nonsense…"_

* * *

"You said you wanted to meet up here?"

"Yeah."

"Let's make it quick too. I have to meet up with Issei later."

"Fine."

Rin and I agreed to meet behind the gym storage room during lunch.

"You remember how yesterday we discussed about how I could stay over at your house for a while?"

"Yeah, don't worry. I told Taiga before I left for school. Though I don't think she'll be joining us for a while, she seems to be just relaxing since Lancer is being her substitute for a while."

"Where exactly is Lancer?"

"She told me she have a meeting today."

"What about your Servant? Is Archer with you now?"

"No, actually he says he sensed something near the rooftop so I told him to check it out."

* * *

Archer opens the door to the roof slightly to peek at what's going on.

"Why aren't you in class?"

"Why should I?"

Archer hears two voices and his brow furrows.

"Last time I checked, you have lunch next period."

Both the Chemistry teacher and Shinji are on the roof.

 _"What is Shinji doing here…"_ Archer thinks to himself.

"You're wrong then. Can't you just leave me alone?"

"Not unless you tell me why you're here in the first place."

Shinji gets more agitated the more he talks to him.

"It's none of your business. Now go!"

The teacher, however, wouldn't budge.

"Fine… If that's the way you're going to act. Rider, kill him!"

In an instant, Rider appears in the air to strike at the teacher. With his quick reflexes, he dodges the blow.

"What?! How can you dodge th-"

Shinji didn't complete his sentence however, as in the next second, he gets kicked in the stomach, flies towards the fence and ends up unconscious. The teacher gives out a sigh.

"To think that there's a student whose actually a Master here…"

Taking off his glasses, a knife appears in his hands and he gets in a battle ready stance.

 _"Is he another Servant?"_ Archer wonders, before deciding that this teacher must be.

Rider once again flies towards him with her agility. He avoids her with no issue.

 _"Is this...Assassin?"_ _  
_

* * *

"Hold on."

Rin interrupts our conversation.

"Archer is telling me there seems to be two Servants fighting on the rooftop."

Two servants? That's strange. I know Lancer has a meeting right now so it can't be her. But who are the two Servants?

"You have any idea who those two Servants are?"

"Archer's telling me one of them is Assassin. So this must mean, if we don't include the other Servants we bumped into… the other must be Rider."

"Do you think Lancer should get involved?"

"I don't think she'd need to. I'll have Archer form a truce with one of the Servants… besides, she needs to keep her identity a secret. I don't think the others know she's here."

* * *

Archer clenches his teeth.

 _"Forming a truce with one of the Servants, huh… Usually in a case like this, they'd say no but perhaps I could make one."_

Archer continues to watch the fight. There has been no notable change in the situation, as Assassin keeps on dodging Rider's attacks. From a normal person's point of view, they're both just blurs, but Archer can see where they are, if barely. His experiences in life using Reinforcement on his eyes has frequently proven itself to be one of his most useful tools.

 _"I don't want to deal with Shinji at all, so it looks like my best bet would be teaming up with Assassin."_

With that, Archer chants the aria that defines who he is, using the magecraft specifically suited for him and him alone.

"Trace, on."

Two short-swords appears in his hands. Archer steps out the door, throws his swords at Rider, and dash towards Assassin.

"I'll make this quick." Rider says dispassionately and blocks the swords. Archer then creates those same pair of swords anew again. They fly past him and hits the wall, before disappearing.

"It would be in our best interests if we team up to hold back Rider." Archer tells Assassin, who seems to be considering accepting this temporary truce.

Archer blocks an attack aimed at his head. A nail flies past him. He could feel the force of it, despite not being struck by it directly. Assassin takes this opportunity to slash at Rider, who pulls her weapon back to avoid him.

"Not only one, but two Servants at this school? What a day it has been so far. As for your offer, I'll accept it for now. As long as we don't get into each other's way, I'm fine with it. I'll accept it." Assassin agrees to the truce, with a smile on his face akin to an interested doctor.

Archer steps behind Assassin as Assassin replies to Archer's statement. They're now back to back. As they both ready themselves, Rider lunges herself to attack them.

* * *

 **A/N** : Apologies for the really late update! I'll be honest, I got distracted a lot and put off uploading this chapter, especially with a few recent games being released. It's my fault. Not only that, I kept rewriting Archer's scenes. To me, he's tricky to write and I still feel like he's out of character. Will the next chapter take this long to update? I'm not sure, I hope not. Hopefully he's not too out of character, so any tips on how to make him more in character would help me out tremendously.


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